A Quiet Love: Drarry
by snowflakeeyes1627
Summary: "When one wizard saves another wizard's life, it creates a certain bond between them..." -The Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry didn't know why he decided to save Draco's life that night, but all of a sudden Malfoy was indebted to him, and it seemed Draco wasn't going to leave him alone until that debt had been repaid. ***Takes place during HBP, spoilers for all books before.
1. Chapter 1

Harry Potter couldn't sleep. This wasn't unusual, as most nights he was kept awake by his school work, but tonight was different. Though his sixth year was taking a toll on him, he had finished all his assignments early in the evening and was planning to get to bed early to catch a few extra hours of sleep. However, his thoughts seemed to be the cause of his restlessness, and the more he tried to quiet his mind the more it seemed to think.

Sighing, he slid out of bed and dressed, then grabbed his invisibility cloak quietly as an afterthought. On nights like these when he knew sleep wouldn't come, it was his habit to wander around the castle, and if no one was around and the weather was alright, he would slip out into the cool night air to clear his mind. He crept out of his dormitory and the Gryffindor common room, peering down the corridor before slipping on the invisibility cloak and shuffling to the entrance of the castle.

Tonight his mind seemed to keep going back to Sirius, his godfather who had died just a few months ago in Harry's fifth year during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. He somberly exited through the doors of the castle onto the expansive lawn, which had a soft gleam of moonlight shining on it. His thoughts wandered back to when he had first met Sirius, back when he was terrified of him and thought he was a murderer, back when he couldn't have been more wrong. He smiled to himself as he remembered his young, third year self causing mischief with his best friends Ron and Hermione and how they had inadvertently run into Sirius in the Shrieking Shack.

He suddenly stopped and turned in the other direction, straight towards the Whomping Willow. He abruptly made the decision to go back to the Shrieking Shack, where he had met Sirius a few years ago. He hadn't been there since that absurd night, and he felt that maybe the storm of thoughts raging in his head would finally calm down if he felt near to Sirius again. He approached the tree with caution, picking up a long branch on the ground and gingerly touching the knot on the tree that would stop it from trying to smash his head in.

"Ah!" yelled Harry, ducking suddenly as the tree took a swing at him. "Blimey," he muttered, finally touching the stick to the tree and walking towards the entrance, slipping into the hollow of the trunk and crouching down to make his way through the narrow passage. After what felt like forever, he reached the edge and came up in the Shrieking Shack. He had removed his cloak, as he knew no one would see him here, but suddenly he froze.

Directly above him, Harry could hear the unmistakable sound of voices.

One voice was clearer than all the others, and Harry recognized it almost instantly. It was none other than his archenemy, Draco Malfoy.

Draco was terrified. He would never show it, because that certainly wasn't how his father raised him, but beneath his cold, hard eyes and pale complexion his heart was racing in his chest and his palms were sweating. He looked around cautiously at the dozen other Death Eater's surrounding him, trying to put up a brave front.

"Lucius, has your son made ANY progress?" A hooded figure growled from the shadows, their face hidden so Draco couldn't recognize who it was. He suddenly felt an icy grip on his shoulder, and recognized it as the cold touch of his father. It was the only kind of physical contact he ever allowed Draco, there were never any signs of affection. Malfoys weren't too big on that sort of thing.

"Draco is only being cautious about his work, isn't that right, Draco?" His father droned in his usual cold, steely tone, and Draco nodded obediently.

"The Dark Lord is growing impatient," said Walden Macnair, another Death Eater. "He expected that a Malfoy would have gotten to Harry Potter quicker; after all the boy is rather thick. How hard is it, Draco?" He smirked, as if he could sense Draco's fear.

"I'm working on it, I just-'' he had nothing else to say, no excuses, no reason that he shouldn't have been able to have already captured Harry. He glanced at his father for help, but Lucius offered nothing. He was trapped, and he knew what happened to people who didn't fulfill Voldemort's wishes immediately.

Macnair stepped forward, a cold grin plastered on his face. "You know, Draco, the Dark Lord gave me his instructions himself tonight. He told me that if you hadn't accomplished anything by this meeting to…dispose of you…" He reached into his robes and pulled out his wand casually.

Draco stepped back unconsciously, bumping into his father and mother. Narcissa had a look of pure shock on her face, but Lucius had a neutral expression. Draco stared at him for a moment, his grey eyes calling out desperately for help. Lucius opened his mouth to speak, but before the words came out there was a crash from the first floor.

"What the bloody hell…" one of the Death Eater's said, and stepped forward to peer down the staircase, but there was nothing there.

"We cannot risk anything else here tonight, we will meet again later and discuss your son's future." Macnair muttered to Lucius, brushing by him. Draco heaved a massive sigh of relief as the Death Eaters, one by one, began to disapparate out of the Shrieking Shack. Finally it was just him and his parents left, and he could hardly meet his father's eye.

"I expected more from you, Draco." Lucius sighed. "Don't disappoint me again." And that was all that needed to be said. "Come, Narcissa." His mother gave him a sympathetic look, took her husband's arm, and then they were gone with a flash of light. Draco was left alone, now close to tears.

Harry was his biggest enemy, yes, but Draco truly didn't think he had it in him just to bring Harry to Voldemort to be killed. He remembered his first year, when he thought that maybe he and Harry could have even been friends. Now, five years later, they couldn't have been further from that.

He sighed and crept towards the passage that led back to Hogwarts, eager to get into bed to catch a few hours of sleep, but then he remembered that something had been downstairs. Anxiously he crept down, his wand out, and finally reached the passage unharmed. He heaved a sigh of relief, and then ran right into something.

He fell to the ground and scrambled up, and to his amazement none other than Harry Potter was standing there in front of him, looking just as shocked as Draco.

 **Thank you guys so much for reading this story! Your reviews and reads mean the world to me :)**


	2. Chapter 2

"Malfoy!" Harry cried out indignantly, scooping up his invisibility cloak hastily and shoving it away into his robes out of sight.

Draco stood up, his grey eyes gleaming silver in the light of Harry's wand, which he held in front of him cautiously.

"What are you doing here, Potter," Draco spat, and Harry couldn't help but notice Draco was trying to nonchalantly tug down the sleeves of his robe, but it was too late. Harry had heard the entire exchange upstairs, and knew exactly what Draco was.

"You're a- a…" Harry could hardly find the words to speak, and ended up just staring wide eyed at Draco, who looked at him with what almost seemed to be fear.

"How much did you hear?" Draco tilted his head to the side, vaguely resembling a slightly confused dog.

"Enough." Harry said, keeping a tight grip on his wand. "So what's your plan, Malfoy? Gonna disarm me right here, take me to the Dark Lord yourself? Bask in your own glory? You're lucky you didn't just get killed y'know," he muttered through gritted teeth, his eyes not leaving Draco's the whole time.

"I didn't… I wasn't going to…" Draco was frantically trying to think of a way not to admit to Harry that he didn't actually want him dead, but he couldn't think of any plausible excuse, so instead he changed the topic. "So it was you who made the noise down here then, was it?"

"Yeah, sadly I ended up saving your life. It's a shame I had to run into that old desk," Harry gestured with his wand, which was still lit, casting a faint glow on a rather shabby looking desk.

"You did NOT save my life." Draco raised his voice so he was nearly shouting, but he quickly composed himself. "Harry you didn't save my life." He said a little more frantically this time, looking quite panicked. Harry was even more confused than he previously had been.

Draco was quickly becoming more and more panicked as Harry's words hit him, but the boy wouldn't seem to shut up.

"I thought you would be happy, at least you're here still breathing rather than lying on the floor up there, left to rot by your own parents-"

"MY FATHER WAS GOING TO STEP IN!" Draco shouted, and it almost seemed as though he was talking to himself now. "He would have saved me." He finally dropped his gaze from Harry's, and looked to the side. He felt a deep hatred now for Harry, he could feel the anger running through his veins. How dare Harry insult him and his father like that… and Harry certainly wasn't right, was he?

Draco immediately drove the thoughts from his head and looked back up at Harry. "He wouldn't have let them hurt me." He said, talking more to himself than to Harry. "What are you even doing here, Potter?"

"Nothing, but now I'm taking you straight to Dumbledore." Harry said firmly, trying to look brave.

"You can't, Potter, he would know you're out sneaking around and… you'll be in trouble too." Draco floundered, trying to buy himself a little time to think. Draco had always been a smart boy, after all his father expected nothing less than perfection from him, but right now his mind seemed to be blank.

"Wait a minute, Malfoy," Harry stepped closer and looked at him cautiously. "Why haven't you turned me in yet, why haven't you called Voldemort himself, no one is around."

Draco opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again quickly. "Because, my father." He said finally.

"What? What does your father have anything to do with this?"

"One of the first things I learned growing up was that I should never, ever be in debt to another man. And now of course you've gone and saved my bloody life, and that makes me indebted to you." Draco rambled quickly, ashamed to admit he had let his father down once again.

"But Voldemort, won't he be angry with you? Draco they were going to kill you," Harry said shortly, confused by Draco's reasoning.

Draco looked at him carefully, noticing this was the first time that Harry had ever actually referred to him as Draco. He thought back to first year, where he had excitedly asked Harry to be his friend on the train, noticing the boy's bright green eyes and wide smile…

"YOU wouldn't understand, Potter, so don't try to. I am letting you get away this once but don't expect next time I will just give you a free pass, like everyone else in your life seems to." He had raised his voice again, reminding himself that he and Harry would never be close like he once dreamed they would. But that was years ago, and this was now.

"Let's just go back to the castle. Now we are even, I saved you now you saved me, and we can go back to hating each other like we always have." Harry turned around to walk back through the passage. "And always will." He added as an afterthought over his shoulder.

Draco sullenly followed after him, keeping his wand raised, knowing that he would be killed on the spot by any number of the Death Eaters if they found out he had come across such a perfect chance to get Harry alone.

Finally they made it back to the castle, and at the entrance hall they both turned to go their separate ways. Harry looked at him silently, his dark green eyes shadowed with an emotion Draco couldn't recognize, and then he hurried off to Gryffindor Tower.

Draco skulked down to the dungeons and entered the Slytherin Commons, finally making his way to his bed. At this rate he would get no sleep, the sun would be up in less than an hour, so he just lay there thinking. And then it hit him.

Harry had not only saved his life, but also not told Dumbledore about their encounter.

Draco was once again indebted to Harry Potter, and this time he didn't know how to get out of it.

 ** _Hey guys, thanks so much for reading my story! This is a repost from my old account which I had to delete, but I'm excited to post it again. Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. I love you guys!_**


	3. Chapter 3

After a restless night trying to think of how he could do a favor for Harry and get over with it, Draco finally got out of bed. His bare feet hit the cold stone floor and he shivered, dressing in his robes and grabbing his books that he would need for the day. He was about to leave and head to the Great Hall for breakfast, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Alright there, Draco?" He turned to see none other than Blaise Zabini standing there, a wide grin on his face. "You usually sleep in, I'm surprised you're up at this hour." He jerked his head towards the window, where the sun was barely rising.

"I'm fine, just couldn't sleep that's all. Care to join me at breakfast?" He raised his eyebrows at Blaise, waiting for his response. After Draco's fourth year, when he had become utterly fed up with Crabbe and Goyle, he had befriended Blaise and they had grown very close. Now they were almost inseparable, unless Blaise was talking to his crush, a Slytherin seventh year named Thomas. Yes, Blaise was gay, but Draco didn't mind. After all, Blaise would never like Draco and Draco would certainly never develop feelings for another boy. That just wasn't what Malfoys did.

"Yeah, just let me get my things," Blaise hurried off and returned a second later with his books and wand, and the two set off to breakfast together. They sleepy sat down and Draco wolfed down some eggs and sausage, rarely glancing up from his meal. He was starving after having been out all night. He decided to look up at precisely the wrong moment: He saw Harry and a pack of Gryffindors stroll over to their table. As Harry walked by they inevitably made eye contact, Draco's cold grey eyes meeting Harry's bright green ones.

They stared each other down for what felt like forever, until Blaise's voice jerked Draco away. "What's Potter gone and done this time?"

"Nothing, I'll be right back Blaise I need to sort something out." Draco growled, standing up so hard he nearly knocked over the bench he was sitting on. He stormed over to Harry, filled with an uncontrollable rage. It was Potter's fault that he was forced to do all this, to be a Death Eater, to already be ordered to kill even though he was just 16. If Harry wasn't here Draco could have just been a normal boy, if Harry wasn't so stupid they could have even been friends…

"Harry, can I talk to you?" Draco said, trying to keep his features calm, though he was practically shaking with an anger that seemed out of his power.

Ron, Hermione, and Seamus gave Harry confused looks, slightly bewildered that Draco had referred to him as Harry rather than some other vulgar names he typically used, but Harry seemed not to notice.

"What about, Malfoy?" Harry raised his eyebrows, seemingly bored and disinterested with Draco. "Whatever you need to say you can say it here,"

"It's about…" Draco paused, trying to get Harry to come with him without disclosing too much information. "Last night." He said finally, hoping Harry would get the point. Finally to Draco's relief, he sighed and stood up.

"Alright but make it quick, I can't be late for Potions again I'm already nearly failing."

"Do you want us to come, Harry?" Ron asked, already standing up and reaching for his wand.

"No, it's alright, I'll be back soon." Harry reassured them, and then followed Draco out into an empty corridor. "Alright, spit it out, Malfoy."

"Remember how I said Malfoys are never in debt to someone else." Draco prompted.

"Yes, and? You saved me I saved you, we are even we settled that last night." Harry started to walk away.

Draco, without thinking, reached out and grabbed his arm. "Yes but, but you did two things for me last night. I've got to repay you again. You saved me and you didn't tell Dumbledore, so now I've got to do something else for you." He said quickly, suddenly noticing how warm Harry's skin was. Why was he noticing that? Draco dropped his arm, but Harry stayed.

"Draco, I don't need anything from you, nor do I want anything. It's fine." Harry once again turned to leave, but Draco ran in front of him cutting him off.

"Wait, no, listen. My father, he has this cottage. A cottage by the sea and we used to go there for vacation but haven't been in years. I know how much you hate living with your muggle relatives over the summer holidays, I can let you stay there. No one will know you're there and then I will have repaid you." Draco said firmly, thinking that this would be a deal Harry just couldn't pass up, and he would finally be out of his debt.

"Are you bloody mad? Honestly Malfoy, I thought you were smarter than that. I am absolutely not going to fall into your clever little trap to get me alone, let alone at a place where your father could show up at any time with the rest of the Death Eaters-"

"It's not a TRAP!" Draco almost shouted, angry that Harry wasn't going to accept. At this point, he just wanted to be done with Harry, but he seemed to be making that impossible. For the third time he tried to walk away, and Draco's rage boiled over. He stepped towards Harry and pushed him back against the wall of the corridor. "Listen, just accept it Harry." He gazed into Harry's eyes.

To his surprise, Harry shoved him off and turned them around so now Draco was the one against the wall. "No, you listen Draco Malfoy. I want nothing to do with you, and you thinking you're all grown up and mature and a Death Eater, and you trying to impress your father. Stay away from me and my friends, that's how you can repay me." Harry ranted, his green eyes burning with anger. Without another word he turned on his heel and strode off down the corridor, not looking back.

Draco, still pressed against the cold, stone wall, watched him go and slowly slid down to the floor, panicking. He only had a month until the next meeting with the Death Eaters, and he didn't know how to get himself out of this mess.

He wanted desperately to turn Harry in, he could practically picture the smile on his father's face (Draco rarely ever seen it), his mother pulling him into a tight hug, all the glory he would get. But that wasn't who Draco was, and something, though he wasn't quite sure what, was telling him to protect Harry.

 **Thank you guys so so much for reading and reviewing! It means the world to me :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Harry stormed down the hall, going back to breakfast, but finding that he was no longer hungry.

"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked, standing up and rushing over to his friend with a look of concern.

"Yeah, fine, he was just asking about a potions assignment..." Harry lied calmly, though he was still angry. "Speaking of which, let's go, I don't want to be late." He turned and started walking towards the dungeons, not looking to see if Ron and Hermione were following.

"Since when does _Draco_ ask _Harry_ for help?" Hermione whispered to Ron, looking at him quizzically. Harry was failing potions, while Draco was the best in their entire year, which was no secret.

Ron just shrugged in confusion. "I dunno, but something is up." They both hurried after Harry, walking with him the rest of the way to potions with Professor Slughorn.

They entered and all took a seat at their desks, Harry as far away from the Slytherins as he possibly could be. He yanked out his books and set them out on his table, already in a bad mood because of Draco. Slughorn walked in with a cheerful expression, clapping his hands together and grinning. "Alright class, I'll be passing out your essays that were due for homework last Tuesday...let's see, you all did exceptionally." He paused and looked up, making brief eye contact with Harry. "Well, most of you."

Harry sank lower in his seat as he heard snickers behind him, and he turned around, expecting it to be Malfoy. To his surprise it was only Crabbe and Goyle. He knew that Draco would have pounced on an opportunity like this to make fun of Harry, but today he was staring out the window, seemingly deep in thought.

Harry turned back around when he heard a thump on his desk, and he looked down to see his roll of parchment. He had failed, that didn't come as much of a surprise, but this time Slughorn had scribbled a note at the top. _'See me after class,'_ it read, and Harry let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his impossibly messy hair, a bad habit he did whenever he was stressed or angry.

He sat through the rest of the lesson, hardly bothering to pay attention, until finally the class was dismissed. "I'll see you in charms, Slughorn wants to see me." He mumbled to Ron and Hermione, and they nodded in understanding and shot him apologetic looks as they shuffled out the door.

"Ah, Harry my boy!" Slughorn said brightly, and Harry was confused as to why his professor seemed so cheerful towards him despite the fact he was failing horribly. "And Draco! Excellent, I'm glad both of you have a few minutes to spare with me."

Harry whipped around to see Draco, who apparently had also been asked to stay after. Harry hardly managed to keep his jaw from dropping open as Draco approached Slughorn's desk with a coy smile. "Hello, professor, why did you want to see me?"

"Well you see, Draco, Mr. Potter here is an excellent student. Role model to his peers, hard worker, brave lad-" Slughorn rambled, but Draco cut him off with a scoff at his overexagerated description of Harry. Slughorn cleared his throat. "Um, anyways, Harry seems to be...lacking a bit in potions, and I was wondering if you would be willing to help him out, Mr. Malfoy."

Harry's jaw, which had been tightly clenched in anger, finally did drop open. This couldn't be happening.

"Draco, would you tutor Harry in potions?"

Draco couldn't have been happier to hear this news, the opportunity had almost fallen directly into his lap. "Oh yes, Professor Slughorn, I would be happy to help." He said animatedly, a pleasant smile on his face. His mind drifted as Slughorn went into details, and Draco smirked as he saw everything falling into place. Now it would look like he was getting close to Harry, buying him some time from his father and the Death Eaters. This could also be his way to repay Harry, so he would no longer have to stress over silly ideas like giving Harry a place to stay for the summer. This was much more simple, and effective.

"You two can meet three times a week-you can use my office- and Draco, just refresh him over what we learned in class that day and make sure he understands it." Slughorn said with a grin, and Draco smirked back. He shot a look at Harry for the first time since the proposal had been made, and he looked like he was going to be sick.

"Professor, couldn't Hermione help me instead? She's brilliant, y'know, and we could just study up in Gryffindor Tower, and..." Harry pleaded, trying to think of more reasons not to have _Draco Malfoy_ tutor him in potions.

To both of the boys' surprise, Slughorn started to chortle loudly. "Ah, my dear boy, I had a hunch you might have suggested that!"

Harry looked at him blankly.

"You see, I know how close you and Granger are. She's by far the brightest witch of your year, but," Slughorn interrupted himself with another laughter. "I-I'm afraid that if I left you two alone, studying wouldn't be the only thing you did!" He nearly bellowed, then burst into a fit of giggles.

Harry and Draco both took a minute to catch on to what he was getting at. Harry finally spoke, his voice nearly drowned out by the sound of Slughorn's cackling. "Professor, no, you don't understand, I don't think of Hermione like that at all. She's only a good friend..."

"That's what they all say, Potter!" Slughorn giggled for a little more before finally composing himself and clearing his throat abruptly. "Well, anyways, it'd be safer if you study with Draco. After all, we know nothing will happen there," He stifled another laugh.

"Yes professor, you've got nothing to worry about." Draco said firmly. "I'll get him caught up in potions, and soon enough he'll be the best student you've ever had. Besides me, of course." He added as an afterthought, and gave Slughorn a charming smile.

"Right then, off to class now. Both of you. I'll give you details tomorrow about when you can start." Slughorn stood up and gestured to the door, excusing the boys.

Draco walked out breezily, a spring in his step now that he had Harry where he wanted him.

Harry, on the other hand, couldn't have been more sullen as he left the classroom, cursing his horrible luck.

 **Thank you guys so much for reading my story! Y'all are the best, and your reviews make my day :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Harry hurried down the corridor to get to Transfiguration, meeting up with Ron and Hermione and explaining everything that had just happened.

"Slughorn can't _force_ you to get tutored, Harry, I can help you get your grades up, and you wouldn't need Draco," Hermione explained quickly, pulling out her busy schedule to try and find time to help Harry.

"No, Slughorn won't allow it." Harry sighed, and his friends looked at him curiously. "Slughorn thinks that if I study with Hermione, something 'other than studying' will happen.

Hermione rolled her eyes and started laughing. "Oh Harry, of _course_ we would do something like that!" She said sarcastically as she playfully punched Harry's shoulder. Harry glanced at Ron who had an odd expression, almost like he was angry. Hermione noticed as well, and blushed as she stepped away from Harry.

Ron cleared his throat. "Harry, I'll beat up Draco, you know I bloody will, just tell me when and where, and I'll-"

"RONALD!" Hermione cut him off quickly, glowering. "There is no need for physical violence, we can find another way to get Harry out of this."

"It's alright, I'll just deal with him until my marks go back up and Slughorn doesn't think I need a tutor anymore." Harry said bluntly, surprising them both. He had started thinking about his conversation with Draco earlier than morning, and remembered how it had been apparent he wouldn't leave Harry alone until he had "repaid his debt," or whatever rubbish he had been carrying on about.

"Harry I'm sure Slughorn will understand, just go talk to him about it without Draco there. You don't need any more trouble this year." Ron said quietly, glancing up from his textbook, from which he was trying to read about transforming a shoe into a duck. "I could use a tutor in Transfiguration..." he muttered.

"I could tutor you, I mean, as long as we actually studied." Hermione spoke up, smiling down at the table.

"I don't know 'Mione, from what I've heard you're a pretty wild one when it comes to studying," Ron smirked at her, and Harry swore that he saw her blush.

He left them to their banter and looked down at his book, trying to focus on the lesson, but finding himself unable to do so. For some odd reason, his mind kept drifting back to earlier that morning when he and Draco had talked. At first he began to think about their short, but fiery conversation, but then he remembered something else that he hadn't had time to process when it happened.

He was remembering how Draco had pushed him up against the wall, holding him there. Sure, Dudley had done that to him countless times, but this was incredibly different. He couldn't shake the memory of it, Draco's cold, pale skin on his, his dull grey eyes burning into Harry's. He couldn't even recall the words that were said during that brief moment where they were in contact, just the way it felt. He had a feeling, a strange, unfamiliar feeling. It was similar to getting onto a very tall roller coaster and cursing yourself for being stupid enough to get on, and yet still craving the exhilaration of hurtling down a hill at break-neck speed.

He shook his head quickly, shocked at himself for thinking all of these absurd things. Draco was his biggest enemy at Hogwarts, and that was all he was, or would ever be. Harry dismissed the feeling as nothing, and went back to trying his Transfiguration lesson.

"You alright, Draco?" Blaise asked Draco as he failed his third attempt at bewitching a quill to fly around the room. Draco hadn't been able to concentrate in Charms, he was too excited about the miracle that had happened last period in Potions.

"Hmm? Yeah I'm fantastic, just can't concentrate."

"Why?"

Draco thought for a minute if he should tell Blaise about what happened, but decided against it. "I'm just excited for Quidditch, that's all." He shrugged and went back to his quill, waving his wand far too rapidly for the spell to work.

"Draco Malfoy I know you, and I know that is absolutely not the reason. Go on, spill." Blaise smirked, but Draco ignored this comment and kept trying the spell over and over. Blaise, fed up, yanked Draco's wand out of his hand and held it out of reach with a devious grin.

"I'm not giving it back until you tell me!" He sang.

"Come _on_ Zabini, I don't want to fail this assignment and I'm already doing poorly, you know how my father gets when my grades aren't perfect." Draco whined. Contrary to popular belief, he was a very bright boy and cared a lot about school.

"Tell me."

"No. I refuse." Draco rolled his eyes, but Blaise gave him a pointed look. "Okay fine, I'm tutoring Harry Potter in Potions." Draco said quietly, and while Blaise stared at him with his mouth open he took his wand back.

Blaise suddenly burst into a wide grin. "Ooh, so Malfoy's got a crush, does he?"

"What? No that's not-oh." Draco suddenly realized that Blaise didn't know the whole story about how he was supposed to get Harry for the Death Eaters, much less how he was indebted to the cocky Gryffindor boy. Of course Blaise would jump to the conclusion Draco liked Harry, that was the only other possible explanation for why he was so excited to tutor his biggest enemy.

"Why else?" Blaise snickered. "Potter and Malfoy, sitting in a tree..." He started, laughing harder.

"Blaise I'm not even gay!" Malfoy glowered at him, trying not to laugh because of his friend's antics.

"You know, I used to say that, and then I laid eyes on Viktor Krum for the first time..."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I know, I've heard you go on and on about him for two years now. Listen, I'm not gay, and even if I was it would never, ever, be for Potter." He thought for a moment, trying to think of a way to distract Blaise from asking what the real reason for Draco's excitement was. "If I did happen to be gay, it would _probably_ be for you, Blaise." He snickered as Blaise's jaw dropped.

"Oh shut up, Draco, I know you aren't gay." Blaise glared at Draco, and went back to his Charms work abruptly. Draco, whose distraction had worked beautifully, was feeling quite pleased with himself. Today had started out rough but things were starting to look up, and tomorrow would be even better, as he would start tutoring Harry.

Though unknown to both of them, this was one of the rare moments in their friendship where Blaise would be right, and Draco was wrong.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Harry awoke in his four poster bed with a smile. He had been dreaming about Quidditch, one of his most favorite activities. He couldn't fully recall the dream, but he remembered that he had been flying right next to someone, searching for the Snitch, and that someone had been wearing green, so he knew they must have been Slytherin.

Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, Potions, tutoring. All these thoughts hit Harry at once as he remembered yesterday, and the smile ran away from his face. He somberly got up to take a shower-no one else was up yet so he wouldn't have to rush. He trotted to the bathroom and stepped into the stream of water, trying to relax and calm himself down before today.

"You have nothing to be nervous about Harry." He said aloud to himself, wondering why he was nervous about the tutoring in the first place. It most certainly wasn't because of Draco Malfoy. He finally stepped out of the water when he heard someone else enter the bathroom, and stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Morning, Harry," Seamus yawned sleepily, seeming to be barely awake.

"Hello," Harry smiled politely, trying to ignore the fact his stomach felt like it was doing flips from his nervousness. He exited the room before Seamus could start up a conversation, most likely about Muggle football, since Harry seemed to be the only one who understood it.

He scurried up the stairs back to his dormitory to go get dressed, and then went down to wait for Ron and Hermione to walk to breakfast with him. Hermione was already sitting there, waiting in a cozy chair by the fire, skimming over a rather large book.

"Hello Harry, where's R-" She was cut off when they heard a loud thump come from the stairs that led up to the boy's dormitories, and a second later the door burst open.

"Sorry, I slipped," Ron said with a grin. "Ready for breakfast?"

"Big day today, Draco, eh?" Blaise said loudly, clapping Draco on the back at breakfast. "Your first date!" He burst into a fit of laughter as Draco rolled his eyes, but he was excited about today nonetheless.

"Yeah, I hope he likes me! Do I look okay?" Draco spoke with a frantic tone, playing along with Blaise's teasing. Blaise pretended to look him over, fixing his hair and straightening his robes. Draco laughed along with his, then allowed himself a glance at the Gryffindor table. Harry seemed to be in quite the opposite mood: he didn't exactly look angry, but almost nervous. He wasn't touching his food (though Hermione was coaxing him to eat something,) and he kept running his hand through his hair anxiously.

Draco continued to watch as Ron slyly tried to take a piece of Harry's bacon, but Hermione saw and whacked him in the head with a stack of parchment. Harry laughed at this and looked up, and suddenly Draco realized he had been staring for too long, but before he could look away the two had made eye contact. They were both smiling from watching Ron and Hermione's antics, and somewhere in the back of Draco's mind he registered that his was probably the first time they had looked at each other while smiling. Draco also noticed that Harry's smile didn't falter, which was strange.

Typically whenever they were looking at each other Harry's green eyes were smoldering, but right now they looked like a forest with sunlight shining down over top of it; a soft green glow. Then, just as quickly as it came, the moment disappeared, and they both turned back to their tables. Blaise practically pulled Draco up from his seat. "Ready for Potions, mate?!" He said enthusiastically.

The two of them headed to the dungeons and arrived earlier than everyone else, who remained upstairs finishing breakfast. "Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini!" Slughorn greeted them, enthusiastic as ever. "I'm glad you came early, Draco, I have a few things to go over with you," He said, gesturing for Draco to follow him to the storeroom, an extremely large room whose walls were lined with thousands of ingredients. Inside the massive enclosure, Draco saw that a small desk, a cauldron, and a few ingredients had been set up.

"Professor, what is this for?" Draco asked curiously, though he already had a sneaking suspicion.

"Yes, well, not to embarrass Mr. Potter, but he truly is quite far behind the rest of the class. I was thinking in addition to having tutoring sessions outside of class, the two of you could come in here _during_ class and you could get him all caught up!"

Draco stared at him, dumbfounded. He could handle helping Harry once a day, but twice? That seemed to be a bit much, and he wasn't sure how Harry would take it. But then again, his father would be impressed by his cunning...

"Draco would love to help all that he can." Blaise spoke up from behind Draco, who turned around to glare at him.

"Excellent! Then I can just go over what you'll be teaching him today," Slughorn said, leaning over the desk with Draco. He glimpsed some frog eyes, juniper berries, sparrow feathers, and lizard tails. Draco could immediately identify which kind of potion it would be, this was something they had learned in third year!

"I can handle this professor, don't worry." Draco smirked. "I know just what I'm doing, I'll hardly need the book." Slughorn nodded in approval, and then hurried out to greet the rest of the class, who had begun to flood in.

"Have fun, Draco," Blaise said with a wink, scurrying out of the storeroom. A minute later an excited looking Slughorn appeared with Harry, practically shoving him into the room. He shut the door behind Harry, who stood right next to the doorway.

"Well c'mon, have a seat." Draco urged, and Harry reluctantly sat down at the seat next to Draco. The desk was rather small, and they had to sit pretty close together, but Draco didn't mind.

"Alright, what are we making?" Harry asked, looking at the lizard tails with disgust.

"It's a simple Laughing Potion. It will just give you a fit of giggles, depending on how much you drink, but it should go away shortly." Draco explained, and Harry looked impressed by his extensive knowledge. "I'm not even going to bother with the book." He said proudly, starting to lay out the ingredients in order.

"Now then, Harry," Draco stood up abruptly, pacing in front of the desk and looking at Harry. He wanted Harry to relax and feel at ease with him, so he tried to disarm him by making him laugh. "Can you explain to me _why_ we use lizard tails instead of salamander tails?" He drawled, doing a perfect impersonation of Professor Snape.

Harry, who was trying very hard not to laugh, accidentally let a giggle escape him. Draco narrowed his eyes and slapped the desk in front of Harry. "Ah, laughing before even attempting to make the potion, that's a form of cheating Mr. Potter. FIVE HUNDRED POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR!" Draco yelled loudly in his best Snape impression, causing Harry to lose all of his composure and burst into a fit of laughter.

Suddenly the door burst open. "Working hard, I presume, right boys?" Slughorn said, peering curiously around the room. Draco realized he had probably been far too loud with his Snape impression.

"Oh yes, Professor," Draco said with a charming smile, and Slughorn nodded at them and closed the door again. Harry let out one final laugh, smiling up at Draco.

Draco wasn't positive, but he felt like all of a sudden he would do anything in the entire world to see that smile and hear that laugh.

 **I am so excited to post next chapter tomorrow, because there is going to be some INTENSE DRARRY! Thank you guys for reading and commenting, I love you guys so so much.**


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, Potter, looks like we've actually got to work now." Draco said, reclaiming his seat next to Harry. "So, in order to make this stuff, let's see..." Draco thought for a moment.

"Are you sure you know how to make this without the book, Malfoy?" Harry looked down rather anxiously at the large dish of frog eyes, but Draco just shrugged.

"Yes of course I do, I'm a master at potions." So first we've got to boil the juniper berries for a while, and then, yes then we dice the lizard tails and add those in." Draco said confidently, handing Harry a knife.

Harry began to cautiously cut the lizard tail into even sections, or he tried, but it didn't exactly turn out like that. Draco burst into laughter, finally seeing Harry's atrocious Potions skills firsthand. "What?!" Harry cried out indignantly, glaring at Draco.

"No, I'm sorry," Draco said, still chuckling. "Here let me show you." He offered, taking the knife from Harry, who watched in awe as Draco rapidly and smoothly chopped up the lizard tails, crushed the frog eyes, and then shredded the sparrow feathers, setting them all aside into neat piles when he was finished. He had no idea that Draco could be so cautious and...gentle.

"Right then," Harry looked down at the ingredients. "Now we add the lizard tails, correct?" He looked to Draco for approval, who smiled and nodded. Harry carefully picked up a handful of them, dropping them in, but he heard a loud sigh before he could get very far.

"Not like that," Draco drawled, his cocky attitude starting to return. "Let me do it."

"No, the whole point of this is so _I_ can learn how to make these silly potions."

"Fine, I'll show you." Draco said, and without waiting for a response from Harry he came up behind him, grabbing his left hand and showing him how to carefully add in the ingredients, while grabbing his right and helping him stir the cauldron.

Harry, who would have been typically shocked and disgusted by this, didn't say anything. Because they both felt it. The feeling from the morning before, the strange, unexplainable feeling that passed between them every time their skin made contact. Neither one of them spoke until the potion was finished, neither wanting to break that magical moment.

It was ironic, Draco thought, how they attended a school designed for magic, and yet this was the most he had ever felt. Here, alone in a dingy storeroom with his sworn enemy Harry Potter. Finally the potion was finished and Draco stepped back, letting go.

"Should we give it a go, then?" Harry asked, looking at the bubbly purple concoction in front of him, which vaguely represented how he was feeling.

"Yeah, try it out!" Draco encouraged, grabbing a goblet and filling it with the mixture.

"What, me? No! What if you made a mistake," Harry said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh bloody hell I didn't make a mistake. I never make mistakes."

"If you're so sure then drink it, Draco."

"No, together." Draco insisted, filling a second goblet.

"Okay fine, together. 1...2...3!" They both raised the potions to their lips, taking a long swig each. "Draco I feel funny," Harry said, wondering when the laughing would start.

"It's... how it's supposed to feel." Draco said quickly, but he very well knew the potion typically didn't act like this. But he couldn't have made a mistake, he knew what he was doing, he was very focused-wait. No, he had been very focused, but not on the potion. He had been concentrating on Harry, the way his skin felt and the way he smelled, which reminded Draco of whatever he smelled when Amortentia was being brewed, for some reason.

Suddenly Draco remembered very clearly in his third year, when Snape had explained the side effects of brewing this potion incorrectly.

 _"Now, make sure you pay careful attention to how many times you stir it, and in which direction. Six times clockwise will give you the proper potion, however, if you stir seven times counterclockwise, you will get an extremely temporary, yet very strong, love potion."_

Draco turned to look at Harry in horror, unsure whether he should tell him or not, but suddenly he felt a warm feeling coming over his body, he could tell Harry anything, right? He trusted Harry, he was safe here with Harry. He looked into those gorgeous green eyes, a smile coming over his face, when he saw Harry already staring at him with an odd smile on his face.

And then, to Draco's surprise and amazement, Harry stepped forward so they were almost touching. "Sorry, just wanted a better look at your eyes," Harry said, laughing a little, but Draco swore he saw Harry's eyes flicker down to his lips and back up again. Draco couldn't blame him though, he was doing the same. All rational thoughts had been thrown out the window, all he could think about how Harry was standing right in front of him, he could feel Harry's warmth and smell his distinct scent and they were so close that Draco could feel Harry breathing on his neck.

And then they were so close there was no distance between them, because Harry Potter had leaned forward, and was softly kissing Draco Malfoy.

 **Omg this chapter was so much fun to write and I can't wait to keep working on it! Thank you so much to those of you reading this story, and especially those of you commenting and following I love you so much**


	8. Chapter 8

Draco was overcome with a sensation he had never felt in his entire life up until the moment Harry kissed him. A warmth spread through him, similar to sitting by the fire on a cold winter night with a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Tentatively, he wrapped his arms around Harry's neck, and the two of them were touching yet again. The moment seemed to go on forever, and Draco wasn't sure how long it did last, but he knew one thing: The kiss had lasted longer than the effects of the potion. He distinctly remembered Snape saying that the feeble love potion they had accidentally created together would only last five, maybe ten seconds, so it was relatively harmless.

But their kiss...it had surely lasted longer than that. Draco, lost in his thoughts, was unaware that Harry was staring at him with a mix of shock and anger. Draco was at a loss for words, unable to explain to Harry that they had kissed without the effects of the potion acting on them. Neither one of them could speak, so they just gaped at each other, wide eyed and scared.

For a moment, Draco remembered a time from when he was a little boy, and his mother had taken him out shopping with her. This was a rare treat for Draco, but she had taken him to go pick out a new piece of wall art for their lovely Malfoy Manor. They had entered the shop and his mother had allowed him to roam the store, and he had immediately gone to the back, where his eyes landed on a picture that captivated him immediately. It was a picture of a gorgeous river, (moving of course, since it was bewitched,) and Draco couldn't take his gaze away from it. Not so much because of the beauty of the river, but because at the very edge of the frame, you could see the current picked up and there were some jagged rocks, and the artist made it clear that a waterfall was approaching ahead.

Draco only just now remembered this picture, because that was exactly how he felt. Everything seemed safe and happy right now, but it was clear that something dangerous was brooding up ahead, daring him to get closer. But Draco had always been a reckless boy, and if the universe was daring him to play with the fire that Harry conveniently seemed to be, he wouldn't back down from the challenge. Something had passed between him and the Gryffindor boy, and it wasn't solely because of the potion.

Harry stared at Draco for an eternity before finally speaking, though his thoughts were still all muddled. "You...you did that on purpose. You tricked me." He said, as this was his first conclusion. He figured it was just another way Draco was trying to get close to Harry, so he could send him straight to Voldemort to get killed.

"What, Harry no, let me explain." Draco said. Harry hardly listened as he talked about how the potion had gone wrong, but he was just getting more and more angry. Draco said that he knew what he was doing, he had trusted Draco.

"That's what you get for trying to brew a bloody potion without looking at the book! You're just a cocky, arrogant, foul—" Harry stopped speaking as Draco suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders, staring into his eyes.

"Harry. By the time...that happened...the potion was already wearing off. It was supposed to only last for ten seconds at most, and that still happened." Draco spoke quickly in a hushed undertone, and Harry vaguely noted somewhere in the back of his mind that the rest of the class was packing up outside the door, and in a minute Slughorn would burst into the storeroom. "It was you who kissed me Harry,"

"You didn't try to stop me!" Harry argued weakly, though it was no excuse. Draco was right, Harry had been the one to initiate the kiss. And now it was burned into his memory, and he kept replaying the moment over and over. "Oh no..." he moaned, sitting down at the desk and putting his face in his hands.

"Listen, Potter, I'm not anymore happy about this than you are, but whatever happened just then has already happened, and we have to face it." Draco said firmly, standing in front of Harry. "Now we need to discuss it—" But before he could say anymore, just as Harry had predicted, the door opened and Slughorn waddled in.

"How was our first day, boys? Potion go well? It was a rather simple one, Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure it went off without a hitch." He smiled at the two boys, but his grin rapidly disappeared when he saw the state of disarray the two seemed to be in.

Harry noticed this and, not wanting anyone else to have even the faintest idea of what had happened, covered for both of them quickly. He broke into a wide grin and forced himself to laugh a little. "Oh yes, Professor, I just spent the last ten minutes laughing so hard I could hardly breathe!"

Draco picked up on what Harry was getting at, and smirked along with Harry. "I had some myself Professor, and I think he'll be a fine student in no time." Draco lied, and Slughorn nodded in approval.

"Ah, yes, mind if I help myself to some? I could always use a good laugh..." He reached for one of the half empty goblets, but Harry lunged forward, once again thinking quickly, and drank the whole thing. Draco looked at him with astonishment, which Harry chose to ignore.

"Sorry Professor, what did you say?" Harry asked dumbly. Draco elbowed him in the back, and he realized he should be laughing. He forced a giggle, but couldn't help noticing the tingle that went down his spine where Draco had touched him. Was it because of the potion, or Harry's own feelings?

"Never mind, boys, I'll just be going. Clean up in here." Slughorn said, giving them an odd look, then turned and hurried out of the storeroom, banging the door shut behind him.

Harry immediately turned to look at Draco, ready to yell at him, but he still felt the effects of the potion on him. "How long did you say this lasted again, Malfoy?" Harry smirked at him, resting his chin in his hands and staring longingly up at Draco. It couldn't be wrong, what he was thinking and feeling, it was just the potion right?

"Um, about ten seconds Harry, you drank it two minutes ago."

Harry drew in a sharp breath, sitting up straighter and averting his eyes from Draco. "You're wrong." He said immediately, knowing the feelings he had just had absolutely had to be because of the potion. There was no way he was sitting there...thinking those unnatural thoughts...and yet they felt so right.

"Harry, I know I'm irresistible, but you don't have to be so obvious about it." Draco teased with a smirk, though Harry noticed the blonde boy couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Harry either.

"You kissed back, Malfoy, don't forget that." Harry reminded him, and then stood up and strode out of the storeroom without another word.

 **The real Drarry is finally starting and I couldn't be more excited ahhh what do you guys think Draco and Harry both think about this situation? Was it just the potion or something more? Thanks so much for reading and voting for this story! I love you guys so much!**


	9. Chapter 9

As he stormed down the hall and as far away from the classroom as he could get, Harry felt a deep rage burning inside of him. He angrily ran his hand through his hair, then darted into a bathroom. He stared at himself in the mirror for a long time, wondering if he was going insane. Or maybe he wasn't even Harry anymore, because he certainly didn't recognize the boy staring back at him. His hair was still the same messy black, he was the same height and he still had his scar, of course, but his eyes were what had changed. They were usually a calm, quiet green, sometimes almost dull, but now they looked the color of the ocean right before a hurricane, wild and panicked and darting this way and that.

"Don't let that happen again, Harry." He murmured to himself, before turning away from the mirror and going off to his next class. He decided against telling Ron and Hermione any of it; in fact he scarcely talked to them through all of Charms and Herbology, until on their way to Transfiguration Ron finally pulled him aside.

"Alright mate, you're never this quiet, what happened. Did Cho finally talk to you? Did she kiss you? Are you nervous for the first Quidditch practice tomorrow? You know the Slytherins challenged us to a scrimmage to open up the season...that's probably why you're nervous—" Ron continued to ramble, but Harry stopped listening at the word 'Slytherin.' He had entirely forgotten about Quidditch tomorrow, since he had been...preoccupied in the morning.

Finally he looked up and realized Ron was watching him worriedly, waiting for a response. "Um, yeah, just haven't flown in a while, and I don't want to lose to them." He said hurriedly. "I might do some practicing tonight." As he thought about it, he realized what an excellent idea it was. Harry had always gone flying when he was upset and needed to clear his head, and he decided that he would sneak out tonight to ensure that he could be alone. Something about flying around alone at night on his Firebolt, the wind rushing through his hair (and making it even messier than it already was), soaking up the moonlight and starlight, could always turn his mood around. It was like being up over the tops of the trees and the school made him feel like he was bigger than all his troubles and worries.

Harry dragged himself through the rest of the day, thinking of anything but Potions class, until finally it was time for bed. He waited for what felt like an eternity for everyone to clear the common room, and finally when he heard the sound stop downstairs he slid out of bed, grabbing his invisibility cloak and his broom. He winced as his feet hit the cold stone floor, but ignored it as he threw the cloak over his head, struggling greatly to force his broom underneath it.

He scurried down the stairs, through the common room, past the Fat Lady, and down the corridors, until finally he was out onto the front lawn of Hogwarts. He could hardly wait to fly, so he folded up his cloak and put it in his robe pockets before kicking off the ground and heading straight up. He could stay up here forever, and he wished that he could keep going up forever. Past the trees, the clouds, the stars and the moon, until he was above everything and nothing could hurt him.

Draco was anxiously waiting for the Slytherin common room to clear out, but Pansy and her gang of Slytherin girls would not go to sleep. He knew how nosy everyone in his house was, but he needed to get out immediately. He wanted some fresh air, a place to think, anywhere that was nice and quiet. Usually he would slip out to the lake on nights like this, but the girls were making this extremely difficult. The room was quickly feeling quite claustrophobic, and he was growing anxious as the minutes past. Finally he stood up, glaring at them, and strode out of the room without a word. He hoped his cold stare would be enough to shut them up for the time being, and maybe they wouldn't blab to everyone that he was yet again sneaking out in the middle of the night.

He drew in a deep breath as he stepped out into the corridor, smiling to himself at the thought of peace and quiet. He hurried through the castle and out one of the side doors he had discovered in his fourth year, which led straight out to the lake. He walked down the muddy banks and took a seat by the edge of the water, watching the moonlight reflect off the water. Though he didn't want to, he couldn't help but notice that the deep green water was the exact color of Harry's eyes...similar to the way Harry was unavoidably noticing at that same moment that the silvery gray full moon perfectly resembled Draco's eyes.

After what felt like hours of sitting there, staring at the water, Draco stood and decided to go for a walk. He wasn't ready to head back to the castle yet, but his back had grown stiff from sitting and he had stared at the water for so long he could have sworn he saw something move. The thought of the giant squid reaching out a long tentacle and pulling him in was enough to drive him to stand up and walk in the other direction—towards the Quidditch field. He vaguely remembered that his first practice was tomorrow, a scrimmage against Gryffindor, and once again the thought of Harry was drawn into his mind. The boy seemed to come up everywhere, when Draco least expected it. Even in his thoughts he couldn't seem to get away. He sighed and sat down in one of the lower stands, looking up at the goal posts with a tired smile on his face. He was growing tired, and let his eyes half-close as he rested his chin in his hand.

And then he yelled out in surprise. Something—he wasn't quite sure what—had zipped in front of the goal posts, and was suddenly zooming straight towards him. To his utter dismay, the figure landed and moonlight illuminated his face. Messy dark hair, bright green eyes, of course it was none other than Harry. Just Draco's luck.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here Malfoy?"

It took Draco a minute to realize Harry was yelling. "I was just-" he was cut off by more yelling.

"I come out here to get away from you, for a second of peace, and of course you follow me. What do you want from me anyways?!" He had stepped so close to Draco they were nearly touching, and both of them unconsciously registered the spark that passed between them.

"Harry, what are you fighting against? I'm not going to try anything." He said, in what sounded like a resigned tone.

Harry was staring at Draco, filled with blind anger. Or hatred. Or some strong feeling he couldn't identify. He just knew it made his chest hurt and it was hard to breathe and it must have been a bad emotion because Draco always made him angry, but this felt different from before. He couldn't explain this emotion, he just knew that it was so strong and it was urging him to do something and he didn't know what. And then, as if someone had taken control of his thoughts, he was noticing everything about Draco. He had just brushed his hair out of his eyes anxiously, and now he was looking everywhere but at Harry. And then Harry noticed his smell, a dark cologne and dirt and sweat mixed together...had he been outside long?

And then Harry saw Draco bite his lip and the feeling was pounding in his chest and he lost all control of his body and, for the second time that day, Harry had slammed his lips into Draco's. The kiss was angry and passionate this time, filled with all the emotion the two had been holding in all day. Harry wrapped his arm around Draco and pulled him closer, grabbing his blond hair in his hands. Draco, meanwhile, had seemed to melt into Harry, and was breathing heavily as he deepened the kiss and ran his hands down Harry's back, causing a shiver to run down the other boy's back.

Finally they both pulled away and stared at each other. They both understood this kiss had been different, not under the effects of a failed love potion. This kiss had been raw, it had been real. And as they both looked into each other's eyes, it unmistakably looked like the moonlight reflecting off of the lake.

And then Harry was smiling and Draco was smiling and they were both overcome with the giddy, nervous excitement of doing something they weren't supposed to. They fell onto their backs and stared up at the night sky, not really talking, just lying next to each other and smiling to themselves. They both forced all rational thoughts out of their heads, just knowing that this was real and this was right.

 **Guys I'm finally back and I can start updating daily again! Thanks so much for all of your comments and reviews! I can't wait to keep writing this story, it's getting good. Thank you to everyone reading this :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Draco woke up the next morning, feeling quite stiff and cold. And...wet? He sat up abruptly, looking around him. He was laying in the grass, covered in morning dew, lying next to Harry Potter. Everything from the previous night came rushing back and he started to panic. "If my father hears about this..." He muttered to himself, looking around anxiously. He was supposed to be trying to capture Harry, not developing a stupid schoolboy crush on him...

"Harry, wake up." He shook Harry gently, but he just groaned and rolled over, his face in the dirt. Draco snickered as he also sat up abruptly, wiping his face off.

"What happened, why am I...oh." He made eye contact with Draco and frowned. "We fell asleep, didn't we?" Harry said stupidly, causing Draco to laugh again. "It's not funny, we need to go!" He scrambled to his feet and grabbed Draco's shoulder, yanking him up.

"You're right, I'm never late to class." Draco said frantically, taking off towards the castle. "We'll talk in Potions!" He yelled over his shoulder, hurrying off to take a quick shower and try to look presentable. Malfoys always had to look their absolute best, and now he was covered in dirt and dew and his hair was messy and his muscles were stiff. He rushed through the dungeons and finally entered the common room, slinking past Pansy and her friends and heading upstairs to the showers.

He sighed with relief as the warm water ran over his shoulders and down his back, relaxing his tense muscles while he scrubbed away all the grime of the night before. But something was worrying him: he knew no matter how many times he showered, he wouldn't be able to wash away the feel of Harry...let alone the way he smelled and tasted and looked...

He finally got out and dressed in his best robes, looking in the mirror to make sure his hair was flawless. He had to keep up his appearance of normality as best as he could, the more times people noticed Draco being suspicious the more they would go digging for the reasons why, and he most certainly could not have that.

He wouldn't have much time for breakfast, but he felt that he should go anyways so people didn't notice his absence. He hurried to the Great Hall and sat at the Slytherin table, not daring to look in the direction of where Harry sat every morning. He stared down blankly at the table, lost in his thoughts, until something landed directly in front of him. He saw an envelope and looked up to see his eagle owl soaring overhead. Draco swallowed hard and picked up the envelope, turning it over and seeing the bold, simple handwriting. He didn't have to open it to know it was from his father, and his father never wrote to him unless it was to admonish him or tell him bad news.

He looked around to make sure no one was watching him, and then carefully tore it open and pulled out a thin piece of parchment.

We need to meet early, the others are worried that things are not progressing as according to plan. You have a trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow afternoon. We will talk there. Come alone.

Draco read it once before folding it up carefully and tucking it into the pocket of his robes. He stood up and walked quickly out of the Great Hall, all the talking and laughing and noise suddenly becoming far too much for him. Everything seemed to be closing in around him, the pressure was rising fast. His father and the Death Eaters were pushing him towards the edge of a dangerous cliff and no one seemed to be there to pull him back and it was just a matter of time before he gave up and stopped resisting and let them shove him off to his demise.

He found an empty bathroom and looked into the mirror at himself. He tried to remember himself as a little boy, but he realized he hardly knew who he was anymore. Draco wondered why his father had even wanted a son. Did he really love him, or did he just want someone to carry on the family bloodline? Someone to do Voldemort's dirty work so his father wouldn't have to? He was just a stupid pawn in his father's life, easily able to sacrifice, a tool he could use to get what he wanted.

Draco stared harder at himself, the cold gray eyes and the pale hair and skin. He was turning into the spitting image of his father, and he wouldn't allow himself. But who else could he be? He had spent his entire life being raised to be a perfect Malfoy, but how many times had his father told him he was a disgrace to the family name. If he couldn't be a Malfoy, and he couldn't be anyone else, he would just have to settle for nothing.

"I am nothing," He said firmly to himself, before turning and walking out of the bathroom down to the dungeons to tutor Harry for the day.

He burst into the class, which had already started, and everyone turned to look at him. Blaise gave him a confused look, but Draco wouldn't look at him. "Ah yes, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter is waiting for you in the storeroom." Slughorn smiled kindly at him as he walked by his desk and into the small room.

"Hello," Harry said, looking up from the book with a look of utter confusion on his face. This made Draco smile a little, because he simultaneously got a look at Harry's face and remembered that he was excellent at potions, so maybe he wasn't nothing. He forced down his anger and sadness from before like he had done so many times before, wondering how many more times he could do that before he cracked. He suspected it wouldn't be long now, he couldn't take much more.

"Right then, I see you haven't managed to explode anything yet. That's a good start." Draco teased, gesturing for Harry to get up as he took his chair and started reading over the lesson for the day.

"Hopefully you don't make another love potion, Malfoy." Harry bantered, coming up and putting a hand gently on his shoulder, and Draco smiled more. This was real and this was right, joking with Harry and forgetting the rest of the world outside and just brewing stupid, first year potions together.

"No, I don't think I need to." Draco smiled slyly to himself as Harry sat next to him, and they got to work on the potion.

 **Sorry for Draco being so angsty in this chapter I know it was pretty abrupt, but it's just part of his character development. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing I love you guys 3**


	11. Chapter 11

Draco was trying his hardest to focus on teaching Harry the potions, but the other boy was making it extremely difficult. "So, we need to add crushed bat wing," He said, trying to sound confident, but Harry laughed. "What?!" He cried out indignantly.

"You've said that three times," Harry shrugged and took the book from Draco, trying to read ahead. "Y'know I'm not sure if you're as good at potions as you say you are, Draco Malfoy." Harry taunted, and he stood up abruptly from his seat.

"Who's supposed to be tutoring who?" Draco raised his eyebrows and sauntered over to Harry, trying to grab the book from Harry, who kept mischievously moving it just out of his reach. "Stop it Harry!" He whined, making another wild lunge as he tried to get back his beloved potions textbook.

"Nope, you've got to beg for it." Harry said firmly, causing Draco to roll his eyes.

"Shut up, Potter. You know what? The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone, so keep the book. You can show me how to make this bloody potion." Draco said, smirking to himself as his quick-wittedness from Slytherin came in handy for once.

"Fine." Harry strode over to the table and sat down, reading the ingredients and instructions. "We need to add the crushed bat wing and let it brew for 1 minute. Then we add white rose petals and stir 3 times counterclockwise..." He continued to read them out, but Draco wasn't really listening. His brain was doing that horrific thing where it was noticing every little thing about Harry: he was licking his lips after every few sentences, and he kept shaking his messy hair out of his eyes, and he tapped his fingers on the table mindlessly.

"Right then Draco, if you're the student today, then why don't you brew the potion?" Harry said coyly, thrusting the book and ingredients at Draco. "Go on, we don't have much time."

Draco nodded quickly and accepted the challenge. "Easy, I bet I don't even need the book for this one."

"You said that last time..." Harry admonished him, but Draco ignored it. He knew this potion by heart, nothing could mess him up now.

Harry, however, had something else in mind. He decided it was high time he play a little prank on Draco, and he noticed how nervous and distracted the other boy got when he was around. He watched as Draco started the potion, adding the ingredients carefully and precisely.

"How's it coming?" Harry asked, standing behind him, his voice barely above a whisper. He smirked to himself as he saw Draco visibly shiver; he knew his breath had hit the other boy's neck.

"Fine," Draco said in a tense voice, and Harry noticed with satisfaction that his hand was quivering when he added the next ingredient. He began to stir carefully, counting out loud how many times he needed to, and Harry spotted his next opportunity.

He easily slid his arms around Draco, grabbing his hands as he stirred. "Try stirring it like this," Harry instructed, his chest pressed up against Draco's back. He snickered to himself, realizing he had no idea what he was doing, he was just trying to distract Draco.

"Yeah that helps, thanks mate."

"Mate?" Harry raised an eyebrow and looked at Draco, who had stopped brewing and turned to face Harry. "I don't think that's how you saw me last night..." He said cheekily, reminding them both of what they had tried to avoid speaking of all day. Something about not talking about it had made it more special, like they shared a secret so deep they couldn't breathe a word of it.

"Shut UP Potter!" Draco stood up and looked at him irritably. "I hope you realize that if we mess up a potion two days in a row Slughorn probably won't allow these little meetings anymore."

"I suppose you're right, better keep working then." Harry grinned at him, pushing Draco back down into the chair and standing behind him, watching his every move.

"It's almost finished," Draco muttered as he added more ingredients and stared into the pale yellow liquid that he was brewing. "This next part is pretty tricky, so don't try anything." He warned, sneaking a glance back at Harry.

"Oh I would never..." Harry said earnestly, trying not to burst out laughing at Draco's concerned expression. He waited for him to start working on the potion again, before finally sitting in the chair next to him and watching him. Quite casually, he rested a hand on Draco's leg, tracing small patterns on him over his robes.

"Cut it out, Harry," Draco growled, glaring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What's the matter, Draco?" He whispered in the Slytherin boy's ear, driving him mad. He absolutely loved seeing Draco like this, and was about to start teasing him more when the door suddenly was thrust open.

"How's it coming boys?!"

"FINE PROFESSOR!" Draco practically bellowed, causing Harry to nearly burst into laughter on the spot. He realized that the stress of Harry messing with him combined with the shock of Slughorn coming in suddenly had probably caused Draco to react without thinking at all, yelling out in fear and surprise.

"Excellent, the potion looks like it's doing well." Slughorn commented, peering into the cauldron and nodding with satisfaction.

"Thanks, Draco's really been helping me a lot." Harry tried his hardest to keep a straight face as he smiled innocently at Professor Slughorn.

"Yes, well, he's excellent at Potions, isn't he? Have you ever considered it in a future career Mr. Malfoy?"

"No sir, I haven't." Draco choked out.

"Well, anyways, I hope you're both ready for your Quidditch scrimmage tonight. I heard that Gryffindor and Slytherin matches are always quite nasty, you two be careful out there." He chuckled as he left the room, dismissing them.

"Potter, you better watch your back tonight." Draco warned him, rolling his eyes at Harry one last time and trying not to smile as he left the room. The scrimmage, which was usually tense anyways, would be even worse for Harry and Draco after last night and today. Harry could only hope that none of them would get thrown off their broom by the other, with all the volatile emotions swimming between them.

 **Thank you guys so so much for reading this story I love you all so much, and especially thank you to those of you who review it you have no clue how much it motivates me.**


	12. Chapter 12

Draco made his way through the rest of his classes, just now realizing how boring it was without Harry there. He used to love his classes with Gryffindor solely because it was much easier to humiliate Potter and his friends, but now he wanted all his classes with the opposing house for an entirely different reason.

"You and Potter dating yet?" Blaise said quite loudly, and Draco elbowed him in the side as a few Ravenclaws turned their heads in Divination.

"Shut up, it's not like that." He muttered, staring into his crystal ball and seeing absolutely nothing. "At all." He added, spying Blaise's skeptical look out of the corner of his eye.

"Okay then, I'll make you a bet." Blaise smirked. "If you catch the snitch tonight in the Quidditch scrimmage, I'll leave you alone about all this. If not, you have to ask Potter out on a DATE!"

Draco's mouth dropped open as Blaise snickered to himself, but Draco was saved by Professor Trelawney. "Zabini, Malfoy!" She said in a misty voice, walking to their table. "Care to share your findings with the class?"

Draco looked into his crystal ball and pretended to look pensive, hoping that Blaise would answer. After all, it was his fault for being so bloody loud all the time. "Yes, professor, let's see..." Blaise said in a thoughtful voice, causing many of the Slytherins to giggle to themselves. "I see a great victory for Slytherin tonight!" Blaise yelled out, his classmates feeding off of his energy. They burst into cheers and all talked in excited whispers about the match that night.

"Why, yes my dear, you're correct." Trelawney smiled wisely. "I saw the same thing myself. Ten points to Slytherin!" She patted Blaise on the shoulder, gave Draco a disapproving look, and hurried back to her desk.

"Right then, Draco, you've got to accept my challenge now. I even predicted you would win," Blaise said quite seriously, but the corner of his mouth was twitching.

"Fine, I'm going to catch that Snitch, then you'll finally shut up." Draco rolled his eyes. "And why would I ask Harry on a date? Nothing like that is going on." He said firmly.

"Yeah, well, those walls in the potions storeroom aren't as quiet as you'd think." Blaise said smoothly, standing up and straightening out his robes as the bell rang. "You're lucky I'm the only one who listens!" He started to leave, and Draco, who had just finished packing up his things, chased after him. They both practically fell down the ladder leading up to the classroom, pushing people out of the way as they ran.

"BLAISE ZABINI!" Draco howled, sprinting after him. He was angry but found himself laughing at the same time; running through the school corridors for no good reason couldn't not be enjoyable.

"I was KIDDING, DRAKE!" Blaise called over his shoulder, rounding a corner so Draco lost sight of him. Draco, panting, slowed down and rolled his eyes at the affectionate nickname Blaise called him to piss him off.

"Hope you're ready for the match tonight, _Drake,_ " he heard a cool voice from behind him, and he turned quickly to see Harry leaning against a wall with one shoulder, his arms crossed, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Of course I am," Draco kept his face neutral, but not breaking eye contact with Harry. "I hope you're prepared to lose," he grinned broadly at Harry before walking past him, bumping into him "on accident." He didn't look back as he headed to his dormitory to change into his Quidditch robes.

"Good luck tonight, boys!" Hermione called, pulling them both into a tight hug in a very motherly way. Harry and Ron, much taller than her, hugged back rather awkwardly, then set off towards the field, their brooms in hand.

"Catch that snitch, alright Harry?" Ron slapped his shoulder, going to fly a few warm-up laps.

"I will!" Harry called after him, heading down to the locker rooms. They were dark, since they were never really used for scrimmages, and someone had already gotten out all the equipment they would need for the match. The only reason Harry was down there was because ever since his first year with Oliver Wood as captain, he had never not started a game without coming down here at some point. He considered it to be something of a good luck charm.

"Didn't think I'd let you up there without me seeing you first, did you?" He heard a voice say, and turned to see Draco slinking out of the shadows.

"You can't be in here!" Harry exclaimed as Draco stepped towards him, smirking. "Draco you've gotta go, what are you even doing down here anyways?" He raised an eyebrow curiously.

"This," Draco said quite casually, before pushing him back against the wall and kissing him hard. Harry was so shocked he didn't resist in any way; he lost all rational thoughts and feelings. Whenever their lips met, all that existed was Draco, who was currently moving his lips over Harry's jawline and then down to his neck, kissing him softly there. Harry's breath hitched as Draco did this, before he finally pulled away and smirked up at Harry. "Thought you could use some good luck before the match." He shrugged and strolled out of the locker rooms, leaving Harry quite disoriented and surprised in the dark room.

"That bloody prat!" He whispered to himself as he snatched up his broom, realizing Draco only did that to throw him off from winning the scrimmage! He would have to prove Draco wrong, and show him he couldn't do that to Harry and get away with it.

Harry hurried up to the field, lining up with the rest of his teammates, who were already on their brooms ready to kick off. He mounted his and then a Ravenclaw seventh year (who had been chosen to be the referee, as Madam Hooch didn't judge for scrimmages,) blew the whistle and everyone was off.

Harry flew high and scanned the field for the Snitch, looking for any flashes of gold down below. The only shiny thing he saw, however, was the gel from Draco's hair shining in the setting sun. He was flying directly below Harry, and kept glancing up to shoot him a sly smile.

Harry tried his best to fly away from him but Draco kept cutting him off, occasionally making false dives at the ground, causing Harry to follow him in a blind panic, thinking the Snitch was there. He was so distracted by Draco that he had hardly paid any attention to the rest of the game, but when he did manage to glance up at the scoreboard he saw Gryffindor was winning 60-20. "C'mon..." he muttered, scanning the sky, until finally he saw it about 30 feet above Ron. He glanced to see where Draco was, but he had already spotted the Snitch and was rushing towards it like his life depended on it. They both shot upward as the Snitch went higher, and they were flying directly next to each other.

"Not today, Potter!" Draco reached out an arm...ready to grab it...but then Harry cut across and snatched it out of his reach.

"I caught it! I got the Snitch!" He yelled to his teammates, and the whistle was blown. They all sank down to the ground, Draco looking rather sullen, to Harry's satisfaction.

"Well done Harry!" Ron called, running over to him and pulling him into a tight hug. He saw Draco glaring at him over Ron's shoulder, leaning on his broom.

"That's what you get," he mouthed to Draco, who rolled his eyes and trotted off to Blaise. To Harry's dismay, Blaise looked extremely cheerful and whispered something to Draco before gesturing to Harry.

He wondered what all that was about.

 **Sorry this was a bit of a filler chapter, but I think it turned out well. Thanks so much to all of you who are reading and reviewing this story! I love you guys so much.**


	13. Chapter 13

Draco was lying in his bed that night, exhausted after Quidditch and angry at himself for letting Harry win. Again. He closed his eyes and rolled over onto his side, when suddenly the curtains surrounding his bed were jerked open and there was Blaise's grinning face. "So Hogsmeade is this weekend, Malfoy, you going to ask Potter on a date?"

"Shut up Blaise," Draco turned and buried his face in his pillow, but Blaise had apparently come prepared for this, since he pulled out his own pillow and smacked Draco hard across the back with it. "STOP!" Draco whined, sitting up abruptly. "Fine I'll ask him, can I please just go to sleep?" He pleaded, glaring at his friend.

"Yeah I suppose. Sorry about Quidditch, mate, but I'm sure you'll have a swell time on your date." Blaise chuckled loudly at his unintentional rhyme and scurried back into his own bed, letting the curtains around Draco's close and sending a cold rush of air over him. He shivered and burrowed himself down under his blankets, now concerned about asking Harry on a _date_. But something else was concerning him, eating him away inside, and he couldn't figure out what it was. He felt as if he already had a prior engagement tomorrow when they went to Hogsmeade, but just couldn't place what it was. He finally gave up and returned to his feeble attempt to get some sleep that night, clearing his head with his worries from the day, which predominately consisted of Harry. That was odd, usually he couldn't sleep at night because he was worried about his father.

 _His father._ It all came back to him then, receiving the owl, meeting his father at Hogsmeade to talk about how everything was "progressing." He winced just imagining how the conversation would go down:

 _"Draco why do you have to leave so soon"_

 _"Sorry father, I'm late for my date with Harry Potter."_

 _"Oh, you mean you arranged a specific date to kill him?"_

 _"No sir, an actual date. I'm gay for Potter, father."_

He cringed and buried his face in his pillow once again, something he had done many times over the past year. He felt the pressure on him again, pulling him in every direction except the one he wanted to go in. Sometimes that's too much for a sixteen year old boy, regardless of what his father taught him. It had been drilled into his head since he was old enough to talk that he was not to show emotion, and certainly not fear or sadness. But those emotions, which he had been deprived of from such a young age, seemed to come surging back now. He supposed that they had just been building up inside of him for so, so many years, and now they were leaking out of him through the means of tears and silent screams.

He didn't want to be a Death Eater. He didn't want to be his father. He didn't want to be a mindless servant to the Dark Lord. He wanted to be Draco, just plain old Draco. Not Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa. He wanted to be Draco, the exceptionally smart boy who was aspiring to be a potion creator when he was older. He wanted to be Draco, incredible Seeker, the best Hogwarts had seen in years. He wanted to be Draco, who belonged to Harry.

His father had raised him to be like a smooth stone, not a single crack or crevice visible. But that was the kind of stone that ended up as a paperweight in someone's office. He wanted to be a stone weathered by wind and rain and rivers, raw and real with jagged edges and as natural as anything.

He would no longer be his father's son. With that thought in mind, Draco finally closed his tired eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Harry was at breakfast the next morning, gulping down his porridge, when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned and to his surprise, Draco was standing there. He looked around for any of his Slytherin henchmen, but the only one he saw was Blaise watching eagerly from the Slytherin table.

"Can I talk with you for a moment?" he asked, shuffling his feet awkwardly. Harry nodded and stood up, giving Ron and Hermione reassuring looks before following Draco.

"What's going on, is everything okay?" Harry looked Draco over, seeing he most definitely didn't look like himself. His skin was paler than ever and his eyes were a very dull gray.

"Yes, I just wanted to ask you...on a date?" Draco blundered, staring at the floor and Harry could have sworn he saw him blush.

"A date?!" Harry laughed and put two fingers under Draco's chin, lifting his head up so he was forced to make eye contact. "Of course, Drake, I'd love to. But where? And won't people see? They've already grown suspicious of me spending so much time with you..." Harry glanced nervously down the hall. He wasn't exactly ashamed of Draco, but he knew that both of them understood the uproar that would occur in the school if people knew. Anyways, it was fun when it was their little secret.

"Really? Alright, let's just meet at Honeydukes and we can go from there." Draco said with a smile, though Harry noticed his bottom lip was trembling slightly and he seemed to be shaking.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look like you've been—"

"I'm fine." Draco cut him off abruptly. "I'll explain there, alright? I've got loads to tell you, it'll all make sense then. I'll tell you everything I promise." And before Harry could get another good look at him, he had turned and was walking off down the hall. Harry watched him go with a sigh, wondering what in the world was making him so nervous and upset. He had never seen Draco behave like that in his entire life, something looked very wrong.

 **Sorry for more angsty Draco omg I've just always seen him like that especially since the last two books and movies. Thank you guys so much for reading and reviewing! This story is coming sort of close to ending, but there will still be a few good chapters I promise ;) I love you guys so much!**


	14. Chapter 14

Draco waited until the students were summoned to be taken to Hogsmeade by pacing the floors of his dormitory, trying to focus on his steps rather than explaining everything to Harry while trying to avoid his father. Blaise was sprawled out on his bed, his eyes lazily following Draco as he glanced between his friend and the book he was supposed to be reading.

"Nervous for your date, Malfoy?" He inquired, apparently giving up on the book, because Draco heard a loud thump and turned to see it laying on the floor.

"Of course not," he muttered, walking over to the cracked mirror in their dormitory and fixing his hair carefully. He smirked at himself, glad he had finally stopped using buckets of gel in his hair after second year. He looked very different than he had back then, but he was pleased with himself now.

"Well the whole school's about to leave anyway, shouldn't we get going?" Blaise stood up, accidentally treading on his book, and wincing as the spine cracked. "Ooops." He gingerly picked it up off the floor, repaired it with his wand, and tossed it recklessly on his bed.

"Yeah, just a minute." Draco reached into his trunk and pulled out the cologne his mother had gotten him for his 15th birthday, spritzing a little bit of it on. "There, let's go." He turned and headed with Blaise through the corridors to the Great Hall, accidentally catching Harry's eye as he passed him. He offered him the tiniest of smiles, before making his way to the rest of the Slytherins.

After a brief trip they had arrived at Hogsmeade, and the students ran in every direction, meeting up with their friends or rushing to get a look at the new sweets in Honeydukes. Draco followed these students, standing outside of the shop and shifting his weight between his feet as he looked around for Harry. Blaise followed him at first, but Draco gave him a meaningful look. "What? Oh, right, your date..." He smirked and scurried off into another shop, but Draco saw him sneaking occasional peeks out the window.

Finally after an eternity, Harry showed up, shivering in the chilly fall air. "Sorry, I had to get away from Ron and Hermione." He explained, straightening his robes.

"It's alright, let's get inside. It's cold for September, isn't it?" Draco asked, leading Harry inside to the store. Their hands touched briefly and he shivered (though not because of the weather,) but knew this wasn't the time. "Okay, I think we should buy loads of sweets, then I've got somewhere private we can go." He said, watching as Harry started looking around at all of the sweets.

"Can we do this?" Harry held up a bag to Draco, laughing. It was Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans. Draco looked at them carefully, knowing that he and Harry were about to have a very serious conversation, but the look on the other boy's face was far too convincing.

"Oh alright, fine," Draco sighed, smiling at Harry, who was already running off to grab something else. Finally, he returned to Draco, his arms laden with treats of all kinds.

"Are you not getting anything?" Harry asked, looking at Draco's empty hands suspiciously.

"Of course I am," Draco pushed Harry up to the counter, reaching into his pockets and pulling out the money necessary to pay for Harry's sweets.

"What? No don't pay for that—" Harry tried to stop him but Draco had already finished paying.

"You're welcome," Draco laughed as he walked out of the shop, Harry staring at him with an open mouth before trotting along behind him.

"You didn't have to do that, y'know," Harry muttered, blushing with embarrassment as he stared at the ground. "So where is this secret spot?"

"Follow me," Draco said, and with that he turned and headed down the street at a brisk pace. Harry rushed after him and the two made their way to a store that looked pretty abandoned.

"Draco, this part of Hogsmeade is off-limits to Hogwarts students..." Harry looked at the dingy storefront. Draco just shot him a look and led him around to the back, where all the windows were cracked and boarded up.

"You're not the only rule breaker at this school, Potter, Believe it or not." Draco smirked and carefully pulled back the boards on a window, a movement Draco had done many times before. He often came here during the school's Hogsmeade visits (and a few times by himself) Just to get some peace and quiet and privacy. He slid through the window and helped Harry through with the sweets.

"This place is so..." Harry said, but didn't finish his sentence. Instead Draco just watched as he looked around, taking in the cobweb lined walls, the rundown furniture, and the scratched hardwood floors.

"My father's friend used to own this place, but he moved to Bulgaria. He didn't want anyone else to have his shop, so he technically still owns the property, but I consider it mine now." Draco explained, taking Harry's hand and leading him upstairs.

Harry stared at all the details in the little store, taking in the abandoned picture frames on the wall and the broken glass on the floor. What kind of shop had this been? Too scared to ask Draco, he just followed the other boy up the stairs without question. To his surprise, the upper floor seemed to be the opposite of its counterpart downstairs. There was a bed already made up that was pushed into one corner of the room, a comfortable looking chair by a small fireplace, and a table in the center of the room, with two chairs.

"I starting fixing it up when I began coming here, I used to plan that if I ever ran away I would come here," Draco chuckled, settling himself comfortably into the armchair and lighting the fire with his wand.

"Won't people see the smoke?" Harry glanced at the chimney reproachfully.

"'Course not, didn't you pay attention in fourth year charms? It's a smokeless fire." Draco explained, making Harry feel rather stupid. Of course Draco would have thought through everything before hiding out here. "Anyways, let's get on with those Every Flavored Beans, yeah?" Draco pulled out the bag he had been carrying for Harry.

"Okay, but you have to go first," Harry teased, opening the bag and handing out a nasty green one to Draco.

"Fine, you're the worst though. And since you're going second you have to eat two." Draco glared at him, before cautiously taking the bean and chewing it. "Hmm...it's celery! That's not too bad," He winced and swallowed, then looked into the bag and pulled out a bright orange one and a brown one for harry.

"Oh no, c'mon Drake..." Harry closed his eyes but took the beans, first trying his luck with the orange one. "Pumpkin Juice," He smiled with satisfaction, then ate the brown one with a little more confidence. It took all his willpower not to spit it out as a horrible taste filled his mouth. "Ugh, what WAS THAT?!" He quickly conjured up a glass of water and gulped it down, as Draco fell onto the floor laughing.

"I don't know, Harry, you tell me." He laughed harder, clutching his sides.

"It tasted like...swamp water or something..." Harry winced as he tried to clear the taste from his mouth.

"Here," Draco said, offering him a Chocolate Frog. "This'll help." Harry smiled at him gratefully and took it, wolfing it down and smiling as he finished it.

"Thanks," He said as he took a final sip of water from the glass, and then sat quietly and looked up to see Draco smiling at him.

"What are you smiling at?" Harry asked, unable to stop himself from grinning at the sight of Draco's smile.

"I'm just happy here," Draco explained, stretching out on the floor in front of the fire with his arms behind his head, listening to the logs crackling quietly.

"Oh c'mon, that can't be comfortable," Harry grinned and stood up, suddenly scooping Draco up in his arms and carrying him over to the bed. He set him down gently and laid next to him, suddenly feeling quite nervous.

"This is better," Draco turned to look at him, propping his head up on one hand and laying on his side. Harry was a mirror Image of Draco, facing him, and once again their eyes inevitably met. Grey met green and they just gazed into each other's eyes, trying to figure each other out.

"Your eyes look like the moon," Harry spoke suddenly, the sound of voice shocking himself after the peaceful quiet of the crackling logs of the fire.

"Your eyes look like a lake," Draco said simply, and Harry let out a little laugh. However, something inside of him was telling him to look closer at Draco, something seemed to be off.

"Your eyes..." He started, then stopped. "They're the moon, but they usually have the stars in them too." He finished. "They're not sparkling like they usually do, Drake, something's wrong. What's wrong?" Suddenly Harry realized that Draco had seemed like this for a few days, not quite his usual self. Something was definitely wrong, and he was now desperate to find out what it was.

"Oh Harry, this might take a while to explain..." Draco sat up and sighed, and Harry sat up and was ready to listen.

 **Thank you guys so much for your reads and reviews, I love you guys!**


	15. Chapter 15

Draco sat on the edge of the bed and drew in a great breath, his shoulders shaking a little. He stared at the fire, away from Harry, losing himself in the dancing flames before finally working up the courage to speak.

"Well, I guess I should start at the beginning, that's always a safe place to start." He said, ignoring the fact that his voice was quavering. "When I was four years old, I suppose, one day I saw my father as he was changing, and I noticed a strange tattoo on his arm. I had no clue what it was then, but later he explained that it was-"

"-The Dark Mark," Harry finished for him, looking slightly concerned now. Draco swallowed hard and continued.

"That was about the same time my father started disciplining me hard, I guess he figured that four years old was the right age for me to start following his orders without question," Draco said bitterly, thinking back on his childhood, or lack of one. "He told me that I should be proud to be a Malfoy, and started telling me all sorts of things that I should and shouldn't do, all these rules I had to follow. He was raising me to be exactly like him, and for a long time that was what I wanted to be. My mother didn't always agree with him, I could see it in her eyes, but she never openly objected."

Draco casually fingered the hem of the left sleeve of his robe, wondering when to show Harry what was on his arm. "I tried my best to listen to everything he said, but nothing seemed to really, truly make him proud. I grew older and around when I turned 11 and came to Hogwarts, he really started to let me in on the 'family secrets.' He told me about how he was a supporter of Voldemort, how the tattoo was a Dark Mark and he was a Death Eater, and that's when I started to realize just how horrible he was." He shifted uncomfortably on the bed, tensing up when he suddenly felt an arm go around his shoulder.

"Draco if you don't want to tell me..." Harry started, sitting right next to Draco, but he shook his head and forced himself to keep talking so he could finish and get it out of the way. He could hardly sit still, thinking about how in a few short minutes Harry would probably be standing up and walking out of this room, a look of disgust on his face, and Draco would be alone in the world once again.

"Anyways, I started realizing that I was trapped, in a way. I couldn't leave my family, but there was no way for me to exist as anyone else. If I wasn't the spitting image of my father I was nothing, so that's what I forced myself to believe." Draco stared into the fire again, as Harry soothingly rubbed his back. "I think my father started feeling that I was having second thoughts, and he would tell me the most awful things. Even if he didn't say them directly, he was always implying that I was a disgrace to the Malfoy name, I wasn't good enough at anything, things like that. Sometimes if I didn't do precisely what he said he would start doing things: They started small, like taking my wand or broomstick, which I could deal with."

He paused again, and Harry took the opportunity to finally speak. "Why is this all coming up now, though, Draco?" He now had both arms wrapped around Draco, whose lip was quivering very slightly.

"This summer my father wanted me to prove my loyalty to him and the rest of the Death Eaters," Draco said, and wordlessly pulled up his sleeve. He didn't even look at the Dark Mark, he had already spent ages staring at it and hating himself for it, but he heard Harry draw in a sharp breath behind him.

"Draco...Why would you get this?" Harry asked, standing up. This was the part Draco had been dreading, it had hardly been a week finally having someone there for him and he was already leaving. He thought about all the people in his life who had betrayed him: His father, his _Hero,_ hadn't been what he had thought at all. His mother, who could have stepped in at any time, stayed completely silent. His friends had been just as supportive of Voldemort. He was absolutely sick of everyone coming and then changing the second he got close to them. He stood up too, raising to his full height so he was taller than Harry.

"You think I had a choice, Potter? You think I wanted this? That's why I'm telling you Harry. This isn't who I want to be anymore, it never was, and now I'm stuck in this situation and I thought maybe I could count on you to understand. I thought you'd get it, spending ten years of your life locked up at the Dursley's, I thought you'd understand that sometimes you have to do things you don't want to in order to survive." Draco spat, pacing the room angrily now. His voice was breaking and he was on the verge of tears, but he didn't care at this point. Harry stared at him, his green eyes wide, but he didn't say a word and Draco took this as a sign to continue.

"My father was bad enough when I was little, but it's just getting worse now, and he's expecting more out of me and I can't give it to him, and now they want me to bring you to be killed but I can't do it because I fucking love you, Harry, but now you're going to leave me here just like everyone else has." He finished weakly and collapsed into the armchair by the fire, trying desperately to force the tears that were starting to fall to go back into his eyes, but it was no use. He stared at the flames until they blurred before him, fading in and out as the tears ran down.

He waited for the footsteps, the door slamming, yelling from Harry, but none of that came. There was just dead silence, which, in Draco's opinion, was worse. Finally he did hear footsteps but they weren't walking away...they were coming directly towards Draco.

"Come here," Harry's voice said, and it was in a tone he had never heard Harry use before. It was calm and soothing and Draco wanted to go to Harry, but how could he trust someone who would just leave like everyone else?

Except Harry hadn't left. _Harry hadn't left._ Draco looked up to see Harry standing over him, a look of utter concern on his face, and suddenly he knew Harry was different. Harry, The Boy Who Lived, the boy who had been locked in the cupboard under the stairs, whose parents had died when he was just one year old, who had seen Voldemort come back and Cedric die and his Godfather die and nearly died himself quite a few times...understood. Harry James Potter was not going to leave him.

"I'm not going to leave," harry said quietly, as if he could read Draco's mind, and gently grabbed his hands and pulled him up. "It's okay Draco." He said calmly, and Draco numbly wondered if this was what Harry had said to himself time after time as he experienced endless terrors.

"Harry—" Draco started, but he found himself cut off when Harry tilted his chin up and kissed him hard. Draco melted into the kiss, tasting the salt from his tears and chocolate from the sweets they had devoured earlier, and the irresistible taste of Harry himself.

They kissed like this until Draco had stopped crying, and then they kissed some more. Harry controlled most of it, as Draco was too shaken to do much, but he somewhat enjoyed the feeling of Harry being in charge, holding their bodies close together. He would deal with his problems tomorrow, or never, but for now all that existed was himself, Harry, and the crackling fire in the corner.

It seemed to mimic their relationship, in a way. It had begun with a small spark, barely noticeable. It could have easily gone out, destroyed by water or the wind, but it had been carefully tended and now it had grown into a full-fledged burning flame—strong, unwavering, steady, light and warm and everything good that Draco had ever craved in his life.

This was who he was supposed to be.

 **Thank you guys so much for reading this story, and your lovely comments and reviews! The next chapter is gonna be a super cute one :) I Love you guys so much you have no idea.**


	16. Chapter 16

Draco was lying on the bed next to Harry, breathing in and out gently as he felt Harry's hand delicately stroking his hair. His tears had subsided a while ago but Harry continued to hold him until all of his worries were pushed out of his mind. He closed his eyes, savoring the moment, before sitting up and looking into Harry's bright green eyes.

"Thank you," He said sincerely, pulling Harry in for another quick kiss.

"What for?" Harry tilted his head to the side, looking like a small child, which made Draco's heart flutter in his chest.

"Not leaving, and just playing with my hair and holding me for an hour," Draco chuckled, grinning cheekily at Harry.

"Oh please, how could I leave a face like this?" Harry tilted Draco's chin up towards him as he said this, and Draco fought the blush threatening to spread across his cheeks. "Aww, is Draco embarrassed?" Harry teased, kissing the tip of his nose.

"Shove off, Potter," Draco said, but immediately contradicted himself by pulling Harry in for another kiss. This one was longer and more passionate, and Draco felt as if his entire body was heating up. He vaguely remembered the fire burning in the corner of the room, as he pushed Harry back onto the bed, sitting on his hips. Harry's eyes were closed as his chest rose and fell quickly, his arms snaking around Draco's back and pulling him closer.

Draco continued going at it with Harry, kissing his neck, and felt a shiver pass through his body as the dark-haired boy let out a low groan. He stopped for a second, smirking down at Harry, who opened his eyes and looked up at Draco, star struck. "Scared, Potter?" Draco raised his eyebrows, biting his lip.

Harry's eyes widened at this statement, but then a sly grin formed on his face, and Draco felt butterflies in his stomach wondering what Harry was going to do. "No, but you should be." He said, and suddenly Draco found himself being flipped over and slammed back onto the bed, letting out a small yelp of surprise and blushing immediately. Harry was now on top, and had somehow managed to grab hold of Draco's wrists, pinning them above his head.

The second that Draco had tried to get on top of Harry he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to show the Slytherin who was really in charge. Earlier when Draco had been so upset and vulnerable, Harry had immediately felt a protective instinct over Draco, and that had not disappeared when the atmosphere had changed. He felt like he should be looking out for Draco, taking care of him, doing everything to keep that smile on his face. And in this case, being on top of him on a bed in the second floor of an empty shop in Hogsmeade seemed to do the trick.

"Harryyy," Draco whined, squirming around underneath him, but Harry held him down firmly as he kissed up Draco's neck, around his jawline, everywhere except his lips. It was hilarious seeing Draco, the same boy who had been bullying him for the past five years, so desperate and helpless and wanting Harry.

This came as a bit of a shock to Harry; having spent the majority of his life growing up with the Dursley's, the feeling of distinctly being wanted was a rare experience to him. Rare, maybe, but enjoyable nonetheless. He continued to kiss Draco hard, their lips crashing into each other, and for what felt like hours it was just the two of them, their bodies so close they felt like one, and they moved as one as well. Though it was cliché, they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle: their fingers interlocking and their heads tilting just the right way so their lips could meet and their grins matching each other's like mirror images.

They stayed like this for an eternity, until finally Harry sighed and glanced out the boarded up window, realizing there was no longer sunlight streaming through the cracks between the slats of wood. "Draco! We should have been back at Hogwarts hours ago!" He cried, leaping up suddenly.

"Harry you can't stop right now," Draco shot him a glare, still laying quite comfortably on the bed, and it took all of Harry's willpower not to go running back to him.

"C'mon, you, we've got to go," Harry grinned at him and offered him his hand, pulling Draco back to his feet and fixing his hair, which had become quite messy. "There, good as new." He chuckled, slipping on his shoes as Draco went to extinguish the fire.

"We're going to get in so much trouble, Harry," Draco fretted as they trotted down the stairs together, but Harry couldn't help but laugh as they stepped out into the alleyway behind the shop. It was dark out now, the sun had fully gone down and the moon and stars were out, which Harry smiled at fondly as he thought of Draco's eyes.

"Who cares?" Harry said simply, grabbing Draco's hand as they hurried down the streets of Hogsmeade. "I know a secret passageway back, we can just say we've been in the castle the whole time." Draco looked at him quizzically, but Harry ignored this and pulled him along towards Honeydukes.

"Harry, we left all our sweets behind!" Draco cried out suddenly, which started Harry laughing again. He sounded remarkably like Dudley when he was around five or six years old, and used to complain about not "getting enough to eat for dinner." (Meanwhile, Harry was lucky to receive more than a few slices of bread.) "What's so FUNNY!?" Draco exclaimed, looking genuinely concerned about their sweets, causing Harry to laugh even harder.

Draco stared at him for a minute and then a smile crept onto his face, and then they were both laughing so hard they couldn't stop. It was the giddy kind of laughter that you do when you're doing something you aren't supposed to be, the kind that bubbles up in your chest and overflows out of your mouth like a stream. People glanced at them in the streets but they disregarded the curious gazes, just laughing and grinning at each other without a care in the world.

Finally they stepped inside Honeydukes and tried to restrain their laughter, but the second they tried to stop they just snickered harder. Harry realized the feeling was quite similar to when he and Ron had to stop their joking in Divination, but the more they tried to keep quiet the more difficult it got.

Harry waited until no one was around and led Draco down to the cellar, where he revealed the passage back to Hogwarts.

"Bloody hell, Potter, how long has this been here?" Draco said jokingly as he followed Harry through the cramped, dark passage.

"Awhile. And don't call me Potter, _Malfoy,_ " He teased, finally arriving back at the entrance to Hogwarts. He put a finger to his lips to tell Draco to be quiet, and listened for any sign of footsteps. When he was satisfied no one was there he crept out and Draco followed nervously after him.

After creeping through the hallways undisturbed (few students were out, as it was well after hours,) they finally reached the split in the corridors where they would have to go their separate ways, and Harry frowned.

"What's wrong?" Draco stepped towards him, glancing around to make sure there was no sign of Filch or other patrolling teachers.

"I'll just miss you tonight, that's all," Harry sighed, and then to his surprise Draco kissed him swiftly. "If you miss me, look at the moon." Draco smirked at Harry, knowing that Harry often spent his nights looking out the dormitory windows anyway.

"Hmm, alright, and if you miss me look at the lake," Harry said with a grin, knowing from his second year with the Polyjuice Potion incident that the Slytherin dormitories were actually underground, right next to the lake, so you could look out the windows and see the water.

"I will," Draco called over his shoulder as they went their separate ways, and Harry grinned to himself the whole way back to the common room.

Though both boys were exhausted from their long day at Hogsmeade, neither one of them slept a wink, because Harry was preoccupied staring at the night sky, while Draco was getting lost gazing into the depths of the lake.

 _There's the next chapter, guys, thank you all so much for your reads and reviews! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. Love you guys!_


	17. Chapter 17

Draco woke the next morning feeling extremely tired and cold, but much to his surprise, he was smiling. He rarely smiled when he was awake, much less when he was fast asleep and dreaming, but he only smiled harder when he remembered the night before. He reflected on it for a split second before he realized why he was so cold-he was curled up on the stone floor, his cheek pressed against the window that looked out onto the lake. He vaguely remembered staring out into the dark water the night before, but he had no recollection of falling asleep.

The dormitory was empty, and he suspected everyone else was at breakfast, so he hurriedly got dressed and started down the corridor toward the Great Hall. He was hardly two steps out the door, however, when he felt an icy grip on his shoulder, and whirled around to see Professor Snape standing there.

"Mr. Malfoy, I was just going to look for you." He said in a cold voice, looking down at Draco, who held his ground. "The Headmaster would like to see you in his office immediately."

Draco looked at him blankly for a minute, wondering what it could be about. Snape hadn't said anything about Harry, but he was almost positive that they had been caught from last night. When Draco didn't say anything, Snape heaved a great sigh.

"Well off you go then, or do you need an escort?" Snape raised a thin eyebrow, and Draco nodded quickly before hurrying off to get to Dumbledore's office. He nearly ran into Harry on his way there, who was looking extremely tired and disheveled. His dark hair was even wilder than it usually appeared, sticking up all over the place, and his eyes hardly seemed to be open.

"Dumbledore?" Harry muttered sleepily to him as they walked side by side, their shoulders brushing.

"Yeah, Snape just hunted me down. I suppose we'll be missing breakfast," Draco pouted as they climbed the stairs to Dumbledore's office.

"Honey-Baked Ham," Harry said curtly, much to Draco's surprise.

"What?" He giggled, but before he could answer the statue in front of Dumbledore's office sprang aside, and as Draco realized it was the password they went up and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a faint voice said from inside, and they stepped inside quietly, Harry leading the way. He seemed to be more comfortable in this office, but Draco had never been there, and was feeling quite nervous. "Have a seat, boys." Dumbledore gestured to two comfortable looking armchairs, and while Harry sat Draco remained on his feet.

"I prefer to stand, professor," He said firmly, feeling Dumbledore's curious gaze on him.

"It has come to my attention that neither one of you returned home with the rest of the school from Hogsmeade yesterday evening, is this correct?"

Harry started to make up an excuse, but Draco, surprising even himself, answered truthfully. "Yes professor, Potter and I were...talking." He could have sworn the corner of Dumbledore's mouth twitched slightly.

"Is that all?" He inquired, sitting quite comfortably behind his desk.

"Yes." Harry said. "We returned just a little later than everyone else."

Draco shot Harry a glance out of the corner of his eye, but didn't correct him. Dumbledore was quiet for a long time before finally speaking.

"Very well, that is all, gentleman. I'll explain to Filch what happens before he loses his mind, but I'm quite afraid that may have already happened long ago." He chuckled to himself as both boys heaved immense sighs of relief, and turned to leave. Harry was halfway out the door, with Draco right behind him, when Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy, I have a letter for you. You must have missed it at breakfast." Dumbledore said, holding an envelope to him. Draco swallowed hard, feeling his stomach churn the second he saw it. He immediately recognized the Malfoy family crest stamped on the outside of it, and his father's handwriting addressing the letter to him on the outside.

"Thank you, Professor." He managed to say, his voice raising a few octaves.

"What was that about?" Harry asked him, looking at the letter in Draco's hand suspiciously.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Draco said automatically, as he had done so many times before when other people had stuck their noses where they didn't belong. But this was Harry...and he had learned last night that he could trust him...

"Oh c'mon Draco, I may be failing Potions but I'm not that thick," Harry laughed, but Draco hardly heard him. He was too busy contemplating if he should open the letter with Harry there or not, but he finally decided to do it.

"It's from my father," Draco said, holding up the letter to show Harry, his hand shaking slightly. Harry's eyes widened in understanding, and he grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him down the corridor to a blank section of wall. "What's this for?" Draco looked back and forth in confusion between the stone wall and Harry, who now seemed to be pacing in front of it.

"Well, you'll want some privacy to read that, won't you?" Harry asked, and before Draco could speak a door had appeared out of nowhere. "The Room of Requirements," Harry smiled fondly at the door and pulled it open. "Whatever you need will appear in this room, so no one should be able to find us in here." He explained, and Draco looked around in amazement.

There was a very comfortable looking couch just large enough to comfortably fit two people, a tray of freshly made fudge, a crackling fire, and two sparkling mugs of butterbeer sitting on a table in front of the couch.

Harry took Draco's hand and led him to the couch, and the two sat down and made themselves comfortable. Once Harry had his arm draped across Draco's shoulders, who had slouched down enough on the couch so he could lay his head on Harry's chest, he went about opening the letter.

His hand shook slightly as he tore open the seal and pulled out a thin, yellowing piece of parchment, and unfolded it carefully. He took it and began to read aloud so Harry could know what was being said:

 _Draco,_

 _I see that, unfortunately, you were unable to attend our meeting yesterday in Hogsmeade. This meeting was already arranged to discuss the repercussions for you not following the plan your mother and I set for you, to assist you in the capturing of Harry Potter. It has also been brought to my attention by some anonymous sources that you have been spending more and more time with Harry himself. If this is the case, I would suspect you could have already gotten him to the Death Eaters. This is your final warning, Draco. I have owled the rest of the Death Eaters to meet in the Shrieking Shack tonight at 2 am. I highly suggest you be there with Harry Potter; there is only so far a father can go for his son when so much is at stake. The Dark Lord is growing impatient._

 _My final word of advice to you: Your uncle Perseus Malfoy, who we presumed to be dead for so long, has recently written to us from Bulgaria. He tells us that he is alive and well, with a wife as well as a ten year old son, who is also quite capable of carrying on the Malfoy family bloodline should you fail the family. Please take this into consideration before you act tonight._

 _-Lucius_

Draco set down the letter on the table, his entire body shaking now. His worst fears were coming true, and though he had always suspected them he never realized that they could really be true. His father simply saw him as an heir, a way to carry on the Malfoy name, and now there was another young Malfoy. His father was no longer obligated to protect him, he had made that quite clear in the letter.

"Draco..." Harry started, hugging him closer to his chest, and Draco sank back into it thankfully. Harry just held him, and though his touch was gentle and soothing, Draco simultaneously felt as though Harry's grip was so strong that he would never be let go. "Drake you can't keep living like this." Harry rubbed his back as Draco breathed heavily, his brain reeling as he tried to think of a way out of this situation.

"Harry there's no way out of it, I can't just cut off my family but I can't betray you either, and if I don't listen to my father he made it quite clear what'll happen." Draco spoke faster, standing up abruptly and pacing the room.

"Draco listen, we just need a little bit of time to think; I'll come up with a plan I swear," Harry promised, looking into Draco's eyes, but he couldn't hold Harry's gaze.

"I don't have time, Harry, I have until 2 am, and then I'm done." His breaths were coming rapidly until Harry stood up and pulled him into a tight hug, stopping all his frantic pacing.

"I think I've got a plan...just hear me out."

 _This story is coming close to the end...what do you guys think Harry is planning? Thank you guys so so much for reading and reviewing this story, I cannot thank you enough :)_


	18. Chapter 18

Harry was thinking quickly about what he should do for Draco, and though he said he had a plan, that was predominately a way to stop Draco from crying again and ease his worries. "Well, you see," he started, taking a breath. "We could tell Dumbledore, and—"

"NO!" Draco cut him off immediately, looking extremely worried. "He'll expel me Harry, you know he will..." He stood up and started pacing the room again, but Harry grabbed his hand and pulled him back down onto the couch.

"He won't expel you Draco, he'll understand." Harry tried to explain, knowing Dumbledore's personality much better than Draco did, but he seemed to be hearing none of it. When Draco made it clear that this course of action would not work, Harry reverted to something else. "Okay, maybe we can get away for a little bit, you can hide out somewhere for a while?" His mind immediately drifted back to Sirius, but he shook the thought from his head. He needed to focus on Draco right now, and not lose yet another person he loved.

"Where?" Draco looked at Harry with mild interest, as though he believed this could actually work, which encouraged Harry to continue speaking.

"Well, it would just have to be someplace your father couldn't find you, for a week or two, and you could hide out there and then..." Harry hadn't thought that far ahead, he was just trying to buy Draco time to escape from his father. "Then you can return to Hogwarts and tell Dumbledore? Oh c'mon Malfoy, don't give me that look," Harry had glanced to his left to see Draco looking at him angrily at the mention of telling Dumbledore. "Draco he's really trustworthy and he has helped me with loads of stuff, once I explain this to him he will understand." Harry promised, but Draco didn't look very reassured.

"Well I guess hiding out for a little bit wouldn't be a bad idea," Draco looked around. "But where, Harry? And I need to leave soon if I'm going, I need to get far away." He started to look slightly panicked.

"Maybe you don't need to go far, listen, what about the shop we were in yesterday? You can stay up there, Draco. Your father doesn't know about it, does he?" Harry looked into Draco's dark grey eyes, which abruptly lit up.

"You're right, Potter, he has no idea it exists. And he wouldn't think I'd be stupid enough to go there," Draco smiled for the first time since they had entered the room. "I could hide out there, and take enough food to last me a week, Harry, and..." Both boys looked at each other silently, not really sure of what this would accomplish. It seemed to hit them both at the same time that this wasn't their best idea; it would just further vex Draco's parents, cause an uproar in the school at his disappearance, and other complications. Not to mention the two would be separated for a week, at least.

"It's not the best, but we don't really have much of a choice, Draco." Harry sighed, putting an arm around the Slytherin. "I still think I should tell Dumbledore, and this will give him enough time to figure things out while keeping you safe, okay? That's the only thing that's going to help you." Harry said firmly, and he smiled as he felt Draco nod into his chest. "Good. Now that that's settled, we have a bit of time before you have to go..." He smirked and pulled Draco closer, kissing his cheek.

Draco squirmed in Harry's arms and blushed a bit, but turned to look up at Harry and kissed him hard, sliding his fingers through Harry's hair and tugging gently. In turn, Harry pushed him back rather forcefully so he was now laying on top of Draco, the same way they had been last night. They stayed like that for a minute, smiling quite stupidly at each other, before Harry leaned down to kiss him again. "I won't be seeing you for a while, Potter, I want to make this worthwhile." Draco said suddenly, smirking up at Harry.

He wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him close, just holding him there and kissing him hard and fast, their lips only parting for split seconds as they both gasped for air before going back to each other. They stayed like that for a long time, just kissing each other so fiercely that Harry thought Draco was never going to let him go, and he wished that he wouldn't.

Finally after what felt like hours of snogging they both sat up, looking slightly dazed. Harry stole a look at Draco and smiled to himself at his disheveled hair and smug expression. "Oh come here, Potter," he spoke suddenly and pulled Harry into a tight hug, and Harry snuggled into his warmth.

"I'm never gonna let anything happen to you, Draco, I promise." Harry said in a firm voice, sitting up and looking into Draco's eyes. He would protect Draco from anything and everything that was out there, or die trying.

"I know Harry," Draco sighed, suddenly looking worried, but neither said anything about it. He glanced at the clock and then back to Harry. "We should probably head out soon so you can get back to the castle before it's too late, I don't want you to get in trouble again." He snickered, and Harry rolled his eyes but nodded in agreement.

"Right then, go and get your things and meet me back at the passage we used to sneak back in last night." Harry said, giving Draco one last hug before heading out of the room and going to get his invisibility cloak.

Draco had returned to his dormitory and grabbed a few necessities, shoving them into the pockets of his robes. He vaguely thought about saying good bye to Blaise, his best friend, but decided against it. He would deeply miss Blaise but if he gave away any hint of where he was going, he didn't want to get caught.

"Didn't bring much did you?" A voice called from down the corridor, and he turned to see Harry jogging towards him, his usual stupid grin on his face. Okay, it wasn't stupid, it was adorable.

"Well I'll be back soon, won't I?" Draco returned the smile, though he was feeling a bit nervous. What if his father did find him...? He shook the thought out of his head and turned to Harry, who had a strange, silvery cloak with him. "What's that?" Draco scoffed, looking at it.

"Come here," was Harry's only reply, and he pulled Draco towards him and threw the cloak over the two of them.

"Bloody HELL, Potter, where are we?!" Draco stared at the spot where his legs had been, and there was nothing. "How long have you had an Invisibility Cloak?" He looked at Harry in amazement as he opened the passage that would lead to Honeydukes.

"Since first year," Harry said smugly, leading Draco down the passage. "We can take it off for now," he said casually, pulling the cloak off of both of them and pocketing it. Draco followed him silently down the passage, just now realizing how much he would be missing Harry over the next week.

"Harry?" He asked in a rather quiet voice, and cleared his throat before continuing. "You don't suppose you could come and visit me once or twice, could you?" He was thankful for the dark, so Harry couldn't see the blush spreading across his cheeks.

"We'll see, Draco, but I'll try my best." Harry said reassuringly, moving closer to Draco so he could throw the cloak over him once again as a crack of light showed up ahead.

They listened carefully for anyone above, and once they were sure the coast was clear Harry pushed open the door that led up to the cellar of Honeydukes, and they crept through it. Draco opened his mouth to speak but Harry kept him quiet with a quick peck on the lips, making Draco blush further.

They made their way through the main store, which thankfully wasn't busy at this hour, and finally out into the cool evening air.

"Can we take off the cloak now?" Draco whispered, and a few heads turned to look their way curiously. Harry stomped on Draco's foot quite gracefully, which caused Draco to bite his lip to stop from whimpering out in pain. They continued silently the rest of the way to the shop where they had been last night, until they finally reached the back of the alleyway and Harry tore off the cloak.

"You are the biggest git I have ever met, you know that Draco Malfoy?" He said, glaring at Draco, who could plainly see the corner of Harry's mouth twitching as he tried not to laugh.

"Oh please, you love me," Draco said cheekily, scampering inside before Harry could say anything else. He dashed upstairs and flung himself onto the bed, and a second later he heard Harry thundering up the stairs and felt a large weight on top of him.

"Harry, get off!" Draco laughed as Harry pinned him down and started tickling him. "Harry STOP!" He was gasping for air now between laughs, but Harry would not oblige.

Finally after Draco thought he was going to die from laughing so hard, Harry got off of him and sat up on the bed. "I'll miss you, Draco, you know that?" Harry said sadly, looking over at Draco, who felt his own heart sinking in his chest.

"Just come and visit, alright?" He said forlornly, pulling Harry in for one last kiss before he had to go.

"I'll see you soon." Harry promised, looking back at Draco one last time as he turned and headed for the door. "Don't do anything stupid, alright mate?" He asked, and Draco nodded immediately. "Good, well good night then," Harry gave him a rather forced smile, which Draco returned in the same manner.

"Stay safe, don't let anything hurt you," Draco called after him, and then Harry was gone, and he was alone.

 _Thank you guys for your reads and reviews and for sticking with me while I write this story! I love you all :)_


	19. Chapter 19

Harry made his way back to his dormitory that night in plenty of time, but he was already missing Draco. He went to bed early (he had been up very early the night before) but he couldn't fall asleep. He considered owling Draco, asking how he was doing and telling him that he missed him dearly, but Hedwig wasn't an ordinary-looking owl and Harry didn't want to risk getting Draco's hideout discovered.

He sighed and recalled all the times he had wanted to write to Sirius and they hadn't been allowed to talk because he was on the run; Harry seemed to be in the same situation again. Why did the people he felt closest to always have to be hiding from the world?

 _It's your fault..._ He thought to himself guiltily, considering that if he wasn't this close with Draco he wouldn't have to hide from his family. He stood up abruptly and hurried to the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face to clear his mind. This was not his fault, and he was so happy with Draco that he wouldn't trade him for the world. Finally, after staring at his reflection for a long while, he turned and went back up to bed to try and get some sleep. Harry stared at the ceiling anxiously as the hours passed, knowing the Death Eaters would be meeting in the Shrieking Shack soon and Draco wouldn't show up...he winced as he pictured their rage, but tried not to think about it. Draco was safe in the little room above the shop, and Harry had promised him that he wouldn't let anything get to him, so nothing would.

With that thought in mind, Harry rolled over onto his stomach and shut his eyes tightly, drifting off...

 _He was running down the street in Hogsmeade, chased by the Death Eaters. He could hear their ominous laughter behind him as their feet pounded down the pavement after him. He ran to the only place he knew was safe: The shop Draco had taken him. He was sprinting now, rounding the corner and sliding into the alleyway...through the slats in the broken window..._

 _Harry was running up the stairs now, ready to jump into Draco's arms where they would be safe; he knew absolutely nothing could get them once they were together in that room. He reached the room and there was Draco...but he was not standing ready for Harry._

 _He was sprawled on the floor, his eyes open and blank, his blond hair framing his pale face, his skin cold._

Draco was trying to sleep in the small bed in the room above the shop, but he was too worried to even shut his eyes. He didn't even dare to light the fire, though it was chilly, to avoid the risk of someone seeing the glowing light. He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, looking forlornly at the pile of sweets that he and Harry had left behind the day before. He was starving, but he needed to ration his food until Harry could get him some more. He stood up and paced the room: a habit he had picked up from his father from the time he was young.

He thought for a long while as he walked the perimeter of the room, reflecting on his father and Harry and Voldemort and Quidditch and his classes and his grumbling stomach, until finally his brain ached. "Go to bed, Draco," he muttered to himself, and, thoroughly worn out from pacing for so long, flopped back onto the bed and shut his eyes. He was about to drift off to sleep, when he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. He reassured himself that they were just outside, and closed his eyes yet again, reminding himself that he was just paranoid and nobody knew he was there. And then the door creaked open.

Harry shot up from his bed, his eyes wide, cold sweat running down his back. It was just a nightmare, it was just a dream...but Harry had certainly had vivid dreams like this that had predicted the future before. He checked his watch, it was 4:12 am. He scrambled out of bed, a foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach, and rushed to find Dumbledore. He had to get to Dumbledore immediately. He dashed out of the Gryffindor common room, pulling on clothes as he went, and didn't stop until he reached Dumbledore's office. It crossed his mind that he wasn't sure if Dumbledore slept in his office or not, but this was his only hope. He practically screamed the password and sprinted up the stairs to reach Dumbledore, not even bothering to knock on the door.

To his immense relief, Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, calmly reading a book. "Professor, I think Draco needs help," Harry sputtered, out of breath. He quickly explained the situation to Dumbledore, who sat and listened calmly and patiently. Finally when Harry finished, Dumbledore spoke.

"I'm glad you came and told me, Harry, but I wish you had come to me earlier. I'm sure that Draco will be just fine, but if it will put your mind at ease, we can go check on him. Let me just get dressed and grab a few things," Dumbledore said quite calmly, but this didn't relax Harry at all. He had a feeling deep in his heart and the pit of his stomach that something was very, very wrong.

"Yes, Professor," he said obediently, but the second he stepped out of Dumbledore's office, he was running down the stairs directly towards the passage to Hogsmeade. He knew that Draco needed him, and he had no time to waste. He hurried through the passage, bumping his head quite a few times on the low ceiling, and burst out of the cellar of Honeydukes.

He hurried through the doors and down the streets of Hogsmeade, looking around anxiously, but they seemed to be deserted. And then he saw them: roughly a dozen Death Eaters headed his way. It was unmistakably them, with their robes and masks, and Harry felt like ice water was rushing through his veins. It was a terrifying sight, but he knew one thing: If the Death Eaters were all here, then Draco must be safe. He wouldn't do what he had done in the dream and lead them straight to Draco, he would do the opposite and distract them, leading them away. Harry was not going down without a fight.

Draco laid in the bed, frozen with fear, and finally turned slowly to see who it was. He felt his body start to shake violently as he recognized Walden Macnair, the Death Eater who had called him out at the last meeting that Draco had attended. But the thing that caused the chill to pass through him wasn't the sight of Macnair, it was the two dementors that were following behind him.

"Thought I'd find you here, Draco. I happened to see you running off to this little shop the other day when you were visiting Hogsmeade with your school," Macnair grinned evilly, and Draco stared at him speechlessly. "Now, I know your father well, so I'll strike you a deal. If you can prove to me that you have your father's bravery and courage, as he's claimed you do so many times, this is your chance to show everyone. I, personally, won't kill you, however my dear friends from Azkaban seem to be rather keen on the idea," he explained matter-of-factly, as though he were a first year teacher explaining the basic ingredients of a potion.

"I'm going to leave this room, and you and your little friends," he nodded towards the dementors, "can duel it out. If you come out unscathed, I'll tell your father I met you on the way here, bringing Harry Potter yourself. If not, well then I guess the truth will have to come out." He chuckled in such a horrible way it made Draco's stomach turn. This was all just a game to him, to all of them. Taking innocent lives and destroying everything good that was ever put into the world was what these people did for fun. That was what Draco's own father did for fun. He could feel the tattoo burning on his arm, he had nearly become one of these people, but Harry had been his saving grace, and he wouldn't let Harry down.

Macnair flashed one last horrible smirk with his yellowing teeth and left, allowing the door to slam behind him. Draco brandished his wand, turning to face the dementors, who were already moving in towards him. He closed his eyes, remembering that he had never been able to conjure a Patronus. But then again, he barely had any happy memories from his childhood, and in just the past week he had created so many with Harry. Harry would have to save him once again.

Draco took a deep breath. The dementors were drifting closer and he was finding it hard to breathe; it felt like he was drowning in ice water. He opened his eyes and remembered every single moment he could with Harry.

Making fun of Snape in the potions storeroom, brushing arms in the hallway, their first kiss.

"Expecto...Patronum!" He cried out. Nothing. The dementors were drawing nearer.

The night on the Quidditch field, scrimmaging each other the next day, flying through the air and seeing Harry's smile.

"Expecto Patronum!" He yelled louder, and a thin wisp of silver appeared at the end of his wand. They were only inches away from him now.

Sneaking around in the Invisibility Cloak, staying in this very room after hours by the fire keeping each other warm, kissing Harry, drinking butterbeer, _loving_ Harry...

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

Harry stared at the Death Eaters coming towards him, trying to hold his ground as he gripped his wand firmly in his hand. After all, they wouldn't kill him; they were supposed to bring him to Voldemort. He was safe for the time being, and now he just had to keep Draco safe. As they approached faster and saw who he was, he could have sworn they were laughing. Suddenly one of them raised their wand high in the air, aimed right at Harry.

"AVADA KEDAVRA," a high voice yelled, and Harry took off running. They were showing him no mercy, they were not sparing him for the Dark Lord He had to get out of there. He had no idea where his feet were taking him, he was just trying to escape. Finally when he felt as though his lungs were going to explode and his legs would fall off, he cut backwards into an alleyway. It looked far too familiar, and a sense of foreboding filled him. He was right outside the store that Draco was in, and he could only pray that he didn't lead them there. He didn't hear anyone behind him, and so he slid inside and replaced the board behind him on the window. He tore up the stairs, going to warn Draco that they were coming, and they needed to get out immediately.

He pushed open the door and immediately felt a rush of cold air...he had felt it before in his third year. It was a dementor...no, it was two dementors. He reacted on instinct, pointing his wand at both of them, who were crouched low to the ground.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, and the dementors recoiled and drifted out of the room. Harry's Patronus darted around the room, gracefully as though it was running on the air, but Harry paid no attention to it.

There, lying on the floor in front of him, was Draco. No, this couldn't be Draco. Where was his stupid smirk, where were the moon and stars in his eyes, why wasn't he getting up to give Harry a hug?

Harry saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and suddenly raised his wand, ready to defend himself, but it was just his Patronus bounding over to...a mirror? It looked as though there were two silver stags in the room, but on closer inspection Harry realized that there was another Patronus, it was Draco's. It was very, very, faint, and it was a doe, just like Harry's mother's. He stared at the two Patronuses for a long, long time, a rush of hope flooding through him. If Draco had managed a Patronus then surely he was okay...

The stag suddenly returned to Harry's wand, and the doe returned to Draco's, which was clutched limply in his hand. Harry, hands shaking, crouched next to Draco and gently shook his shoulder.

But Draco didn't stir.

 **THE END**

 _Wow. Writing this story has been a crazy journey, and I don't know how I would have done it without you guys. All of your reads and reviews have inspired me so much to write, and you've given me so much motivation. Thank you all for sticking with this story through every single chapter, thank you for reading my writing, and thank you for all the lovely things you've said. I love each and every one of you guys so much, and I hope you have enjoyed this story as much as I did writing it. I want to mention the song I listened to the whole time while writing this final chapter was Saturn by Sleeping At Last, it is such a beautiful song and I just think it goes so well with this last chapter. Thank you guys all so much one more time, I love you guys._


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